Principles of International Law

Principles of

INTERNATIONAL LAW

John Balouziyeh, Esq.

PRINCIPLES

OF

INTERNATIONAL

LAW

John Balouziyeh, Esq.

Originally published by:

Vandeplas Publishing LLC – August 2012

801 International Parkway, 5th Floor

Lake Mary, FL 32746

USA

www.vandeplaspublishing.com

PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, Third Edition, 2016

Balouziyeh, John

ISBN (13) (2d Ed. paperback): 978-1-60042-176-1

ISBN (10) (2d Ed. paperback): 1-60042-176-8

ISBN (13) (3d Ed. paperback): 978-1-68109-034-4

ISBN (10) (3d Ed. paperback): 1-68109-034-1

ISBN (13) (3d Ed. Kindle): 978-1-68109-035-1

ISBN (10) (3d Ed. Kindle): 1-68109-035-X

ISBN (13) (3d Ed. ePub): 978-1-68109-036-8

ISBN (10) (3d Ed. ePub): 1-68109-036-8

Copyright © 2010-16 by John M. B. Balouziyeh. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or copying to any storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the copyright holder.

DISCLAIMER: Although this book is designed to provide rigorously researched information, it is intended not as a definitive statement of the law, but rather, as a concise and general overview that will help readers to understand basic legal principles and find further information, if necessary. Because the law changes rapidly through new statutes and innovative judicial decisions, law books, including this one, may quickly become outdated. Furthermore, some decisions may be ambiguous and subject to differing interpretations and other sources may come to conclusions distinct from those presented herein.

CONSPECTUS

Conspectus

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Table of International Instruments

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

I. The Definition and Origins of International Law

II. Public versus Private International Law

III. Subjects of International Law

IV. Intersection of the Branches of International Law

CHAPTER 2. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

I. Overview

II. The United Nations

III. The Council of Europe

IV. The European Union

V. North Atlantic Treaty Organization

VI. The Organization of American States

VII. Arab League

VIII. Andean Community

IX. African Union

CHAPTER 3. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

I. Introduction

II. International Treaties

III. Customary International Law

IV. General Principles of Law

V. Opinio Juris: Judicial Decisions and Teachings

VI. International Declarations

CHAPTER 4. STATES AND GOVERNMENTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER

I. Overview

II. Criteria for Statehood

III. Recognition of Governments

IV. Jurisdiction

V. Legality of the Use of Force ( Jus ad Bellum )

VI. Territory

CHAPTER 5. INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW: THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT (JUS IN BELLO)

I. Introduction

II. Principles of International Humanitarian Law

III. Protection of Persons in Armed Conflicts: the Geneva Conventions

IV. Weapons and Methods of War: Hague Conventions and other Treaties

V. State Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect

CHAPTER 6. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

I. Introduction and Definitions

II. International Crimes

III. State Actors and Non-State Actors Compared

IV. International Criminal Courts

CHAPTER 7. HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELATED TOPICS

I. Introduction

II. Sources of International Human Rights Law

III. Human Rights Treaty Bodies

IV. Remedies for Human Rights Breaches

CHAPTER 8. REFUGEE LAW

I. Introduction

II. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951)

III. The Refugee Framework

IV. Regional Conventions

CHAPTER 9. STATE RESPONSIBILITY AND IMMUNITIES FROM JURISDICTION

I. Sovereign and Diplomatic Immunity

II. State Responsibility

CHAPTER 10. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND RELATED TOPICS

I. Introduction

II. Guiding Principles

III. World Summits and Treaties

IV. Regional Regulation: the European Union

V. UN Environmental Programme

VI. Nuclear Non-Proliferation

CHAPTER 11. THE LAW OF THE SEA, AIR AND SPACE

I. Law of the Sea

II. Air Law

III. Space Law

CHAPTER 12. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND TRADE LAW

I. Instruments and Institutions

II. Intellectual Property

CHAPTER 13. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

I. Negotiation

II. Mediation

III. Conciliation

IV. Arbitration

APPENDICES

Glossary

Charts and Graphs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Conspectus

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Table of International Instruments

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

I. The Definition and Origins of International Law

II. Public versus Private International Law

III. Subjects of International Law

A. Overview

B. Individuals in the International Order

1. Overview

2. Examples of Individuals in the International Order

IV. Intersection of the Branches of International Law

CHAPTER 2. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

I. Overview

II. The United Nations

A. Overview of the United Nations

B. Charter of the United Nations

1. Overview of the Charter

2. Preamble of the Charter

3. Body of the Charter

C. Principal Non-Legal Organs

1. The General Assembly (Ch. IV CUN)

2. Security Council (Ch. V CUN)

3. Economic and Social Council (Ch. X CUN)

4. Trusteeship Council (Ch. XII-XIII CUN).

5. Secretariat (Ch. XV CUN)

D. Legal Institution: the International Court of Justice

1. Overview

2. Provisions of the UN Charter with Respect to the ICJ

3. The Statute of the ICJ

4. ICJ Jurisdiction over Contentious Disputes

III. The Council of Europe

A. Overview

B. Legal Institution: European Court of Human Rights

IV. The European Union

A. Overview

B. Legal Institution: the European Court of Justice

V. North Atlantic Treaty Organization

A. Overview

B. The Use of Force under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty

VI. The Organization of American States

A. Overview

B. Legal Instruments

1. American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man

2. American Convention on Human Rights

3. Inter-American Democratic Charter

C. Legal Institutions: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

1. Overview

2. Jurisdiction

VII. Arab League

A. Overview

B. Institutions

VIII. Andean Community

A. Overview

B. Legal Institutions

IX. African Union

CHAPTER 3. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

I. Introduction

II. International Treaties

A. Overview

B. Treaty, Convention, Agreement as Synonyms

C. Binding Force of Treaties

D. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

1. Consent to be Bound by Treaties

2. Interpretation of Treaties

3. Invalidity, Termination and Suspension of Treaties

III. Customary International Law

A. Definition

B. Formation

C. Reservations and Objection

D. Jus Cogens as Part of Customary International Law

IV. General Principles of Law

V. Opinio Juris: Judicial Decisions and Teachings

VI. International Declarations

CHAPTER 4. STATES AND GOVERNMENTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER

I. Overview

II. Criteria for Statehood

A. Objective Test under the Declarative Theory

B. State Recognition under the Constitutive Theory

C. The Objective and Constitutive Theories in Practice

D. Number of Recognized Sovereign States

1. Sovereign States Recognized by the International Community

2. Disputed States

E. Special Cases

1. Vatican City

2. Sovereign Military Order of Malta

III. Recognition of Governments

A. Traditional Approach (Effective Control Doctrine)

B. Tobar Doctrine (Doctrine of Legitimacy)

C. Estrada Doctrine (Automatic Recognition of All Governments)

IV. Jurisdiction

A. Territorial Principle

B. Nationality Principle

V. Legality of the Use of Force ( Jus ad Bellum )

A. Origins of the Legal of the Use of Force under International Law

1. Overview

2. Foundations in Christian Just War Theory

3. Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello under Grotius’ Natural Law Paradigm

B. The Principle of Non-Interference in the Internal Affairs of States

C. Exceptions to the Principle of Non-Interference

1. Use of Force as a Chapter VII Collective Security Measure (Art. 42 CUN)

2. Use of Force in Chapter VII Self-Defense (Art. 51 CUN)

VI. Territory

A. Territorial Expansion through Cession, Prescription and Terra Nullius

B. Inadmissibility of Territorial Expansion through the Use of Force

C. Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice over Territorial Disputes

CHAPTER 5. INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW: THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT (JUS IN BELLO)

I. Introduction

A. Overview

B. Origins

C. Interaction of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law

1. Overview

2. Traditional Approach: Lex Specialis

3. Modern Approach

II. Principles of International Humanitarian Law

A. Introduction: Military Necessity and Humanitarian Imperative

B. Protection of Persons

1. Distinction (Discrimination)

2. Proportionality with Respect to Civilian Losses

C. Conduct, Weapons and Methods of War

1. Military Necessity

2. Humanity (Unnecessary Suffering)

III. Protection of Persons in Armed Conflicts: the Geneva Conventions

A. Overview

B. Conventions Preceding the 1949 Geneva Conventions

1. Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Wounded in War

2. Geneva Convention of 1906 for the Wounded and Shipwrecked at Sea

3. Geneva Convention of 1929 for Prisoners of War

C. Geneva Conventions of 1949

1. Introduction

2. Articles Common to the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949

3. Geneva Convention (I) for the Wounded in the Field

4. Geneva Convention (II) for the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked at Sea

5. Geneva Convention (III) for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

6. Geneva Convention (IV) for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War

D. Grave Breaches

1. Overview

2. Definition of Grave Breaches

3. Application to Internal Armed Conflicts

IV. Weapons and Methods of War: Hague Conventions and other Treaties

A. Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)

1. Hague Conventions of 1899

2. Hague Conventions of 1904 and 1906

3. Hague Conventions of 1907

B. Geneva Protocol to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 (1925)

C. Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions (1977 and 2005)

1. Protocols Additional I and II (1977)

2. Protocol Additional III (2005)

D. Other Conventions

1. Biological Weapons Convention (1972)

2. Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1980)

3. Chemical Weapons Convention (1993)

4. Ottawa Convention (1997)

E. Use of Phosphorous Weapons

V. State Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect

A. Introduction to State Sovereignty

B. Duty to Act under International Treaties

C. The Development of the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine

D. Controversy of Doctrine

E. International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty

CHAPTER 6. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

I. Introduction and Definitions

II. International Crimes

A. Overview

1. The Selective List of International Crimes

2. The Varying Definitions of International Crimes

B. Genocide

C. Crimes against Humanity

D. War crimes

E. Aggression

F. Distinguishing War Crimes from Crimes against Humanity

1. Historic Distinction

2. Current Overlap

III. State Actors and Non-State Actors Compared

A. State Actors

B. Non-State Actors

1. Domestic Courts: the Case of Kadic v. Karadzic (US Ct. App. 1995)

2. Accountability in International Courts

IV. International Criminal Courts

A. The International Criminal Court

1. Overview

2. Jurisdiction

3. Case Initiation

4. Rights of the Accused

5. Applicable Penalties

6. No Ex Post Facto Law

7. Relationship with the United Nations

8. States Party to the Rome Statute

B. Hybrid Institutions

1. Special Court for Sierra Leone

2. Special Panels for Serious Crimes in Dili District Court (East Timor)

3. Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

4. Special Tribunal for Lebanon

C. Ad Hoc Tribunals

1. Nuremberg International Military Tribunal

2. International Military Tribunal for the Far East

3. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

4. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

5. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

D. The International Criminal Court and Other Tribunals Compared

CHAPTER 7. HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELATED TOPICS

I. Introduction

A. General Overview

B. Human Rights Law and the Principle of Nonintervention

C. The Individual as a Subject of International Human Rights Law

1. Overview

2. Protections Afforded to the Individual

3. Responsibilities Imposed on the Individual

II. Sources of International Human Rights Law

A. Origins of Human Rights Law in Domestic Law: The Case of the Common Law

B. Non-Binding International Declarations

1. American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948)

2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN 1948)

3. Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990)

C. Customary International Law

D. Binding International Treaties and Conventions

1. United Nations Treaties

2. Regional Treaties

III. Human Rights Treaty Bodies

IV. Remedies for Human Rights Breaches

A. Domestic Remedies

1. Human Rights Violations by Individuals

2. Human Rights Violations by States

B. Remedies within the International Framework

1. Human Rights Violations by Individuals

2. Human Rights Violations by States

CHAPTER 8. REFUGEE LAW

I. Introduction

A. Overview

B. Applying for Refugee Status versus Asylee Status

II. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951)

A. Introduction

1. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1950) and the Refugee Convention (1951)

2. Refugee Protocol and States Party

B. Definition of Refugee

1. Overview

2. Refugees versus Internally Displaced Persons

C. Rights of Refugees and Obligations of States Party

1. Overview

2. Refugee Rights

3. Obligations of States Party

D. Refugees Unlawfully in the Country of Refuge

E. Non-Refoulement

1. General Rule and Application

2. Exceptions

III. The Refugee Framework

A. Refugee Protection: A Debate over Definition

1. Traditional Definition: Advocating for Durable Solutions

2. Expanded Definition: Advocating for Durable Solutions as well as Providing Assistance

B. The Three Traditional Durable Solutions

1. Voluntary Repatriation (to the First Country)

2. Local Integration (in the Second Country)

3. Resettlement (to a Third Country)

C. Temporary Settlements for Refugees: Refugee Camps

D. Partners in the Refugee Administrative System

1. National Agencies

2. Non-Governmental Organizations

E. The Palestinian Refugee Framework: United Nations Relief and Works Agency

1. Overview

2. Mandate: Protection and Assistance until a Durable Solution is Available

3. Funding

IV. Regional Conventions

A. Organization of African Unity Convention (1969)

B. Cartagena Declaration (1984)

CHAPTER 9. STATE RESPONSIBILITY AND IMMUNITIES FROM JURISDICTION

I. Sovereign and Diplomatic Immunity

A. Introduction

B. Waivers of Sovereign Immunity

1. International Courts and Tribunals

2. Domestic Courts

3. Restrictive Sovereign Immunity

C. Diplomatic Immunities

1. Diplomatic Missions: an Overview

2. Diplomatic Immunity

3. Other Diplomatic Protections and Guarantees

4. Consular Privileges and Immunities

D. Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations

1. Overview

2. Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations (1946)

3. Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies (1947)

II. State Responsibility

A. Generally

1. Overview

2. Definition and Elements

3. Preconditions to Legal Adjudication

4. Reparation

5. International Crimes

6. Implementation

B. Injury to Aliens

1. Overview

2. Standard of Treatment Applied to Foreign Nationals

3. Elements

4. Property Rights of Foreign Nationals: State Expropriation

CHAPTER 10. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND RELATED TOPICS

I. Introduction

II. Guiding Principles

III. World Summits and Treaties

A. United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (1972)

B. World Commission on Environment and Development (1983)

C. Vienna Conference on Ozone Layer Depletion (1985)

D. United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992)

1. Overview

2. Resulting Treaties and Protocols

3. Resulting Declarations

E. World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002)

IV. Regional Regulation: the European Union

V. UN Environmental Programme

VI. Nuclear Non-Proliferation

CHAPTER 11. THE LAW OF THE SEA, AIR AND SPACE

I. Law of the Sea

A. Overview

B. Legal Instruments

1. Four Conventions of the Law of the Sea of 1958

2. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)

C. Maritime Zones of Jurisdiction

1. Internal Waters

2. Territorial Sea

3. Contiguous Zone

4. Exclusive Economic Zone

5. Continental Shelf Zone

6. High Seas

D. Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Law

E. Legal Institutions

1. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

2. International Seabed Authority

II. Air Law

A. Regulatory Framework

B. Air Carrier Liability

III. Space Law

CHAPTER 12. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND TRADE LAW

I. Instruments and Institutions

A. World Trade Organization

B. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

II. Intellectual Property

A. World Intellectual Property Organization

B. Copyright

C. Patents and Trademarks

1. Patent Cooperation Treaty

2. Madrid System for Trademarks

CHAPTER 13. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

I. Negotiation

II. Mediation

III. Conciliation

IV. Arbitration

A. Introduction

B. Doctrine of separability

C. Enforcement of international arbitral awards

APPENDICES

Glossary

Charts and Graphs

ABBREVIATIONS

Where appropriate, acronyms correspond to the names of treaties as they are commonly known (e.g., MT for Moon Treaty), rather than by the full treaty title.