Week 1

Question 1

Public international law

Answer 1

legal issues of concern to more than one state

Question 2

International law is…

Answer 2

the system of law that regulates the interrelationship of sovereign states and their rights and duties to one another. + International organisations and individuals who also possess rights and/or obligation under international law.

Question 3

Sources of international law

Answer 3

Article 38 of the Statue of the International Court of Justice
(Is purely directed to the court, but it’s considered of general relevance)

Primary sources “law creating”:
International conventions, International customs, general principles

Secondary sources “Law Identifying”:
Judicial decisions, teachings of the most high qualified publicists of the various nations

Question 4

Convention/Treaty

Answer 4

Most direct way states create rights and obligations under international law.
–> Only instrument available to two or more states that want to enter a formal legal relationship.

Legal basis of treaties:
- State consent.
- The legal obligations are only for the consenting states

• Not all international law is from state consent, but in treaty law it is decisive
  –> effect is expressed in pacta sunt servanda

Question 5

Bilateral treaty

Answer 5

• Treaty between two states
• often a particular issue of mutual interest and resembles a contract

Question 6

Multilateral treaty

Answer 6

• Larger groups of states
• General application
• “Law-making” features

Question 7

Constituent treaty

Answer 7

• Made by an international organization
• Some of these treaties create international organizations competent to adopt legally binding instruments

example: Charter of the United States gives the Security Council the competence to adopt resolutions binding on all members of the UN
–> these instruments are treaty-based and not independent legal sources

Question 8

Custom

Answer 8

Because of the absence of an international ‘law-maker’, custom is an important source of international law.

• Based on everyday interaction of states
• Ability to adapt to changing circumstances

Customary law:
(1) Followed as a general practice among states (objective element)
(2) Accepted by those states as legally binding (subjective element)

Question 9

Critique on custom

Answer 9

It is challenging to see when the custom ceases to be optional and instead is legally required

A customary rule binds all states (even states that did not take part in the formation of the practice), unless a state persistently objects