According to Article 38 of the 1946 Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Court shall apply “international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law” in its decisions (Kritsiotis 123). In other words, the International Court of Justice cites customs as a formal source of law. According to Roberto Unger, author of Law in a Modern Society, customary international law is best defined as “any recurring mode of interaction among individuals and groups, together with the more
founder of the JRC, Dr. Matthew Israel, resigned after being charged with misleading a grand jury by destroying video footage of students being shocked. Even now the CIA is being hounded to face up to their crimes against humanity and violations of laws that forbid torture. Going so far as to “mistakenly” destroyed the only copy the senate committee 's report and hacking into computers overseeing the
Public International law International law contains of rules and principles, which preside over the relations and communication of nations with each other. International Law that is in most other countries referred to as Public International Law concerns itself only with questions of rights among more than a few nations or nations and the citizens or subjects of other nations. In dissimilarity, Private International Law deals with controversies among confidential persons, natural or juridical, arising
International Law Name: Course: Date: International law is ideally made by sovereign states to be used by sovereign states. International law concerns itself with matters such as diplomacy, state territorial integrity and military issues. The effectiveness of any international law is mainly facilitated by the participation of individual countries in making it (Schreuer 2011, 4). Countries are unlikely to concern themselves with legal norms unless it is within their interests to do so and
International Law By definition, international law is “a body of rules which binds states and other agents in world politics in their relations with one another and is considered to have the status of law.” International law is developed through cooperation and discussion between states. While international law seeks to govern all states, it must at the same time recognize the sovereign power that each state has over its property and possessions. To that end, law is created through discussion
on the responsibility to protect (R2P). Prevention is a key component for good international relations and few would say it is not important, but as evidence to date would show prevention is very ineffective, the legality of military intervention still needs to be debated, as to date there is no consensus. For any intervention to be legitimate, whether unilateral or multilateral, it must comply with international law. So as not to cause any confusion, any situation in which an “intervention” is
In International Law, occupation is described as a temporary result, which involves no transfer of sovereign power. Belligerent Occupation is simply defined as a territory that is placed under the control of a hostile power/army. The basic principles of the Law of Belligerent Occupation are comprised from The Forth Geneva Convention, The Hague Regulations, as well as other bodies of International Law such as International Humanitarian Law and Additional Protocol I. There are four main principles:
International Law as Law When comparing apples to pears, one is not making a fair comparison, but a disproportionate comparison. Often times when international law is discussed or attempts are made to understand international law; many often attempt to compare international law with existing laws such as national law or domestic law. Making such disproportionate comparisons leads to many misconceived notions and attitudes toward international law. For an adequate comparison of international
The International Court of Justice ( ICJ) issued the Advisory Opinion on legal repercussions of construction of the Wall in Occupied Palestinian Territory, demarcating Israel and West bank territories in 2004. Unanimously, the Court drove into the conclusion, that it has the jurisdiction to take decision upon this Case, and fourteen votes to one, endorsed to admit that the state of Israel by constructing the Wall had violated several international law obligations. The Court indicated that the construction
essay will try to discuss the above statement in the context of the nature of international law in the unipolar world. Firstly, the basic definitions will be placed into the essay such as the definition of international law together with its sources, questions on it and the definition of the unipolar world. Secondly, we hereby will try to analyze why states, including the hegemon power, comply with the rules of international law in the unipolar world with the specific instances. Finally, a comparison
Jurisdiction has always been ubiquitous in the international legal system. Lassa Oppenheim describes jurisdiction essentially “as the state’s right to regulate conduct or the consequences of events.” Jurisdiction is multi-faceted, one area that has been the cause of controversy amongst many academics is universal jurisdiction. Defining universal jurisdiction has been problematic to say the least. Roger O’Keefe in his article alluded to universal jurisdiction as “the assertion of criminal jurisdiction
1. Introduction International law can go through substantial changes if the privileged legal subjects, states, share a common will. Whenever the circumstances are such, the actors can convene a conference and after a series of negotiations, they might conclude an international agreement among themselves resulting in a new setup of international law. From a procedural point of view, therefore, it is rather simple to ‘make’ international law. If the substantive elements significantly overlap (i
Introduction: International law has been regarded throughout history as the main system of rules regulating players of the international community, it applies to all states and imposes specific obligations and rights on nations, just as domestic law imposes them on individuals. Its purpose is similar to that of domestic law that is to eliminate chaos in the International community and set standards of behavior which states must follow in their dealings with each other. Many controversies have arisen
perpetrators. Thus, the international humanitarian law was implemented. The international humanitarian law (IHL) regulates the conduct of forces when engaged in war or armed conflict. It is the branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are no longer participating in hostilities. It includes the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law. Serious violations
rule of law allows frequent change of their allegiance or identity by choosing a flag to suit their requirement. Although merchant ships spend most of their lifetime outside the territorial waters, the current international maritime legal regime is ironically revolved around nationality of the vessel. Every vessel engaged in international trade must register in a country and is subjected to the regulatory control of that country whose flag it flies as per the existing international maritime law. Resultantly
bringing the main leader of the organisation to justice. As a result, not only the aim of targeting the leaders was accomplished but plentiful casualties of innocent civilians took place during the retaliation. The question requires the discussion of law with regard to the legality of the use of force in self defence against armed attack by the non state actors as an entity within the territory of a foreign state, along with the principle of necessity and proportionality. The general rule of Article
exercise of its sovereignty and in accordance with international law . Expropriation under international investment law could be through direct or indirect means, whereby direct investment would involve formal transfer of title or outright physical seizure , expropriation of property could also occur indirectly through interference by the state in the use of that property or with the enjoyment of its benefits, without seizure or actual possession . Now the law is clear on the seizure of legal title of property
attack has prevented an adequate public dialog on the legalities involved with information warfare. The United States must address this issue before development of information warfare technologies goes much further. Resolving this issue at an international level can protect the United States from future information warfare attacks and present opportunities to retaliate against attackers. Definition of Terms Before exploring the implications of information warfare, a working definition of the
Anticipatory (Pre-emptive) Self-defence: The Need for a Modern Approach The use of military force is a valid customary international law norm and it is enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Nevertheless, the use of force is only authorised if it falls under one of two categories: self-defence (article 41 of the United Nations Charter), or Security Council authorisation. To justify a resort to pre-emptive war, a state must give reasonable proof that the action is necessary to the vital
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is seen as the law in which provides basic human rights in time of armed conflict. The use of IHL in a modern scenario is needed now more then ever with the increase of entities that wish to disrupt the peace by ignoring basic human rights. Organisations and treaties have been created to help govern the IHL; which will need to be analysed to provide insight into IHLs. This essay aims to critically analyse IHL and outline how it can be improved. To gain an understanding