Midterm section 1-3 Flashcards
International Law
rules, norms and processes that States and other actors feel obligation to obey and use to legitimize or delegitimize actions
Key components of IL
rules and norms implying certain standards of behaviours for states/actors to legitimize or delegitimize behavioural choices
Roles of international law
- to arrange for the cooperation most actors wish to have most of the time
- identifies the memberships of an international society of sovereign states
- mechanism to regulate the competing interests of the various actors and to carry their agreement into the future
- empowers weaker countries as they press for change against the will of the powerful
- instrument to promote justice
- Outlawry of war
Earliest sources of intl law
ethical principles; writings of publicists
Regimes
sets of rules and norms that states converge around and usually obey
Anarchy
system without a centralized government
Actors
Individuals and collective entities, such as states and international organizations which can make behavioural choices, whether lawful or unlawful
Rules
formal, often written expectations for behaviour
Norms
less formal customary expectations about appropriate behaviour that are frequently unwritten
Customary law
based on state practice, combined with an understanding that such practice has developed into an obligatory norm (opinio juris)
Jus Cogens norms
when a stable practice develops among sufficient broad numbers of states, and when large number of them view the practice as legally binding, and becomes recognized as a bonding principle of international law (derogation never allowed)
Realism approach
skeptical of intl law.
states interests = security and power (means of defence + expand influence).
Distribution of power independent of rule of law
Liberalism
Human nature essentially good, people are improvable. Social nature inherent to the character of intl relations.
Constructivism
People ‘construct’ the world through a social process of generating and sharing ideas. Believe in global society and global governance.
State sovereignty principle
horizontal system of legal equals, territorial basis (defined borders), exclusive use of violence within the state.
Anarchic system
no world government, no world institutions in charge of implementing the rules and enforcing and punishing actors, horizontal system with no superior authority.
Interpretation problem
a) Having someone to decide what the law is and how it should be applied to specific case.
b) How are we to interpret the law, will often provide self-serving application of the law.
Enforcement problem
a) Existence or not of an actor that has the power to force states or legal subjects to comply with their obligations Lack of mechanism to enforce law
Natural law
Law of nature rules the physical world & rules of morality should govern human affairs. Law = morality externally given to mankind. Duty is to understand these rules and apply them in practice. Human rights derive from natural law.
Legal Positivism
Law created by states’ will. Intl law is only what states agree to accept as legal obligations. Intl law = consent-based system of law.
Natural legal person
individual
Artificial legal person
actors created institutionally (states, IGOs, NGOs)
Legal personality
actor hood for legal purposes, you have rights and obligations
subjects of the law
legal persons who possess rights and/or obligations under international law
objects of the law
actors that receive the effects of international law, but do not possess legal personality
Sovereign state
political entity that has no political authority above it and where political authority is organized hierarchically (main subject of law, has legal personality)
Becoming a sovereign state
political process resulting in purely political fact which has legal consequences
Internal Dimensions of a state
Territorial basis, permanent population living inside this territory, central government that rules above this territory and population and exclusive ruler
External dimension of the state
Capacity to enter into relations with other states
Declaratory theory of recognition
being recognized by other states in the system is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to become a sovereign state (political entity is a state as a matter of fact, recognition of other states is acknowledgement of state but does not rely on it)
Constitutive theory of recognition
recognition is both necessary and sufficient for statehood to exist
Why membership of Palestine in the UN was never an issue
Membership has to be approved by Security Council. Requires 9 votes no P5 veto (US would veto as ally of Israel)
GA recognition of Palestine as a state
political recognition (no legal statement). legal consequences (can take part in the ICC, IMF, org reserved to states)
Political recognition of Palestine as a state
gives more legitimacy to Palestine in international bargaining. made it difficult for other states and org to deny status of Palestine as a state.
Legal consequences of recognition of Palestine as a state
admitting Palestine in other intl org (ICC) puts pressure over other intl org - Palestine accepted as a new party to the ICC.
Is Palestine a de facto state?
No central government - different authorities in West Bank, Gaza. No full control over the territory nor the population. Initial Occupation by Israel has become annexation (going along for decades).
Background Kosovo case
Kosovo used to be a province of Serbia with secessionist aspiration. Impossible to find peaceful solution. NATO bombed Serbia to force it to grant independence to Kosovo. UN Sec Council Res 1244 established interim regime to govern Kosovo - Serbia no longer had legitimate power over Kosovo.
Two questions on how to answer whether the unilateral Declaration of Independence of Kosovo in line with intl law
- Is the unilateral Declaration of Independence a violation of intl law in general?
- Did it violate more specific sources of intl law applicable her (Res 1244)?
Process to answering Kosovo question of unilateral independence
Author of unilateral independence declaration = Assembly of Kosovo. Was the author part of the constitutional framework of res 1244? No, not an organ of this framework, was acting as representative of people of Kosovo - author not bound by framework of UN interim regime. NO violation of the resolution 1244.
Consequences of Kosovo case
No legal consequences, only political. Many states began recognize this proclamation of independence - implied that Kosovo was a state (intl recognition).
IGO
organizations created by states to promote cooperation amongst them (UN is the most important)
Legal personality of IGOs
extent of legal personality is determined by the sets of duties and rights associated to them by their member states through the treaties that created these orgs. (depends on the context of the treaties that created them).
Examples of IGOs
- UN: 192 members. Inheritor of League of Nations. Traditions of the sovereign equality of states and respect for diplomacy and intl law. Best chance for replacing violent conflict in the world with the peaceful settlements for disputes.
- NATO: created in 1949 by Canada, Iceland, US, Western European States. Created to defend themselves against the rising spectre of the Soviet Union and its communist allies.
- EU: most developed IGO in the world. supranational body of 27 states. states pool their respective sovereignties creating a quasi-authority above the state level to make more effective policy decisions for the common good.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
represent civil society. not subject of intl law but indirect participation in the creating of intl law - consultative status. participate in political process of crating of treaties.
legal personality of NGOs
NO substantive legal personality at the intl level (no rights or obligations)
Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
economic actors in pursuit of profits, and they operate at the heart of the economic globalization process. business enterprises with ownership, management, production, and sales activities located in several countries.