international law essays

Free International Law Essay Examples & Topics

If you’re looking for international law essay examples or writing ideas, you’re in the right place. Our team has worked out a list of international law topics for an essay that can help you write your paper. We’ve explored why it’s worth your time to study it as well. Thus, first of all, we invite you to understand what international law is.

International law (same as public international law) is the set of legal rules, standards, principles, and norms between sovereign states and other international legal actors. These rules are recognized by most states and can be applied to govern the relationships between them.

So, why study it?

The primary purpose international law is maintaining peace and justice. That’s when the importance of international law becomes clear. Without it, countries would not be able to solve issues in an organized manner.

Another critical role of international law is promoting business-related and industrial development worldwide. International law and its principles view economic growth as a global public responsibility. Trading, negotiating, producing, and investing worldwide is possible due to standard norms and shared regulations.

To be able to write an exceptional international law essay, you need an excellent paper idea. Here you will get some amazing topics ! You can use these international law essay ideas for composing your paper or read them for inspiration.

Use the following ideas to practice or complete your assignment:

• The evolution of antitrust laws in the UK.
• Comparison of gun control laws in the US and Sweden.
• Child labor in the global economy and laws against it.
• Rules of private international law.
• Conflicts of regulations in public international laws.
• Why do nations have to obey modern international law?
• New international commercial court drafting of laws.
• Reasons why the former first lady of Ivory Coast is tried for crimes against humanity.
• Palestinian territory occupied: possible ways to resolve the conflict.
• “Access the Sea” case in Bolivia and Chile.
• Influence of the United Nations on modern international law.

In this paragraph, we’ve combined a list of international law essay questions. They are useful for numerous reasons, some of which we’ve already explained above. The key aspect is that they can help you practice writing international public law essays.

Here are our seven international law assignment topics:

• List the theories that explain the relationships between domestic and international law.

In this essay, a student is invited to explore the relationships between domestic and international laws. Indeed, these relationships are genuinely complex. While listing theories, try to answer the question about the position of domestic law within the international one.

• Explain what is the role of international law in the modern world?

It’s a great essay topic that gives a lot of space for students to develop ideas. Indeed, the role of international law in the modern world is hard to overestimate.

• Analyze legal systems of Asia and Africa.

An analysis of these two legal systems can be a fascinating endeavor. Additionally, explain what the difference between “laws” and “legal systems” is.

• Illustrate legal justifications for the use of force?

Here, we urge students to explain the legal thinking behind the implementation of force. Illustrate when and how legal entities can apply the laws on the use of power.

• What do you think about Kosovo as a state?

It’s a pretty personal question. However, be mindful of basing your response on the laws and principles of international law. A great topic that can capture the reader’s attention if delivered correctly.

• Show the importance of recognition within the international legal system.

Here you should demonstrate what importance acknowledgment plays in international law. Additionally, enumerate the conditions nations should fulfill to be recognized.

• Discuss the extent to which international law protects the rights of minorities?

When answering this essay question, keep in mind how international law defines minorities and what it does to protect these groups. Explain who can claim minority rights.

Below, we’ve collected interesting and easy international law topics for research papers. Check them out!

• The role of international law in solving global environmental issues.
• How to balance international obligations regarding human rights and state sovereignty.
• The international criminal court’s effectiveness and challenges.
• How international trade law impacts global economic relations.
• Protecting civilians in war zones according to international humanitarian law.
• How international refugee law evolved: challenges and responses.
• The role of international law in combating transnational organized crime.
• Ways of balancing innovation and access to knowledge according to international intellectual property law.
• Historical and current conflicts related to territorial disputes.
• Indigenous peoples and their rights under international law.
• Effectiveness and limitations of the United Nations peacekeeping operations.

This collection of public international law essay topics delves into diverse areas of the subject. Check them out below:

• Liability regarding state responsibility for environmental damage.
• How international organizations promote global health and well-being.
• What legal challenges does international law face in the digital age?
• Ways of balancing preservation and security in protecting cultural heritage during armed conflicts.
• The rights and obligations of states during the refugee crisis.
• International legal approaches and cooperation in combating transnational terrorism.
• International trade law and dispute resolution in global commerce.
• The right to self-determination in indigenous peoples in the context of international legal frameworks.
• State obligations in mitigating climate change.
• Analysis of the responsibility to protect (r2p) and its implementation challenges.
• Violations of international humanitarian law in non-state armed groups.
• The use of force in international law during humanitarian interventions.
• Corporate accountability for violations of human rights: what are the legal avenues for redress?
• International criminal law and accountability for war crimes.
• Ways of balancing maritime interests and environmental conservation.

Thank you so much for reading our article. We hope it can help you in your next international law assignment. Now you can check the free essays below to see how other students handled the task.

77 Best Essay Examples on International Law

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• Introduction

Definition and scope

• Historical development
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• General principles of law
• Other sources
• Hierarchies of sources and norms
• Creation of states
• Recognition
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international law

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• International Committee of the Red Cross - The "failed State" and international law
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Philosophy of International Law
• Library of Congress Research Guides - Public International Law: A Beginner's Guide
• Business LibreTexts - International Law
• Cornell Law School - Legal Information Institute - International Law
• international law - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

international law , the body of legal rules, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign states and other entities that are legally recognized as international actors. The term was coined by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832).

The nature and development of international law

According to Bentham’s classic definition, international law is a collection of rules governing relations between states. It is a mark of how far international law has evolved that this original definition omits individuals and international organizations —two of the most dynamic and vital elements of modern international law. Furthermore, it is no longer accurate to view international law as simply a collection of rules; rather, it is a rapidly developing complex of rules and influential—though not directly binding—principles, practices, and assertions coupled with increasingly sophisticated structures and processes. In its broadest sense, international law provides normative guidelines as well as methods, mechanisms, and a common conceptual language to international actors—i.e., primarily sovereign states but also increasingly international organizations and some individuals. The range of subjects and actors directly concerned with international law has widened considerably, moving beyond the classical questions of war , peace, and diplomacy to include human rights , economic and trade issues, space law , and international organizations. Although international law is a legal order and not an ethical one, it has been influenced significantly by ethical principles and concerns, particularly in the sphere of human rights.

International law is distinct from international comity, which comprises legally nonbinding practices adopted by states for reasons of courtesy (e.g., the saluting of the flags of foreign warships at sea). In addition, the study of international law, or public international law, is distinguished from the field of conflict of laws , or private international law , which is concerned with the rules of municipal law—as international lawyers term the domestic law of states—of different countries where foreign elements are involved.

International law is an independent system of law existing outside the legal orders of particular states. It differs from domestic legal systems in a number of respects. For example, although the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which consists of representatives of some 190 countries, has the outward appearances of a legislature, it has no power to issue binding laws. Rather, its resolutions serve only as recommendations—except in specific cases and for certain purposes within the UN system, such as determining the UN budget, admitting new members of the UN, and, with the involvement of the Security Council , electing new judges to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Also, there is no system of courts with comprehensive jurisdiction in international law. The ICJ’s jurisdiction in contentious cases is founded upon the consent of the particular states involved. There is no international police force or comprehensive system of law enforcement, and there also is no supreme executive authority. The UN Security Council may authorize the use of force to compel states to comply with its decisions, but only in specific and limited circumstances; essentially, there must be a prior act of aggression or the threat of such an act. Moreover, any such enforcement action can be vetoed by any of the council’s five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Because there is no standing UN military, the forces involved must be assembled from member states on an ad hoc basis.

International law is a distinctive part of the general structure of international relations . In contemplating responses to a particular international situation, states usually consider relevant international laws. Although considerable attention is invariably focused on violations of international law, states generally are careful to ensure that their actions conform to the rules and principles of international law, because acting otherwise would be regarded negatively by the international community . The rules of international law are rarely enforced by military means or even by the use of economic sanctions . Instead, the system is sustained by reciprocity or a sense of enlightened self-interest. States that breach international rules suffer a decline in credibility that may prejudice them in future relations with other states. Thus, a violation of a treaty by one state to its advantage may induce other states to breach other treaties and thereby cause harm to the original violator. Furthermore, it is generally realized that consistent rule violations would jeopardize the value that the system brings to the community of states, international organizations, and other actors. This value consists in the certainty, predictability, and sense of common purpose in international affairs that derives from the existence of a set of rules accepted by all international actors. International law also provides a framework and a set of procedures for international interaction, as well as a common set of concepts for understanding it.

International Courts and the Development of International Law

Essays in Honour of Tullio Treves

• © 2013
• Nerina Boschiero 0 ,
• Tullio Scovazzi 1 ,
• Cesare Pitea 2 ,
• Chiara Ragni 3

, Dipartimento di diritto pubblico, University of Milan - Statale University, Milan, Italy

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Bicocca University, Dipartimento giuridico, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

, dipartimento di diritto,, university of parma, parma, italy.

• Collection of high quality expert contributions to the progressive debate on the development of international law
• Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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About this book

This book contains a collection of essays by leading experts linked to the outstanding characteristics of the scholar in honour of whom it is published, Tullio Treves, who combines his academic background with his practical experiences of a negotiator of international treaties and a judge of an international tribunal. It covers international public and private law related to international courts and the development of international law.

Under Article 38 of its Statute, the International Court of Justice can apply judicial decisions only as a “subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law”. However, there are many reasons to believe that international courts and tribunals do play quite an important role in the progressive development of international law. There are a number of decisions which are inevitably recalled as the first step, or a decisive step, in the process of the formation of a new rule of customary international law. In these cases, can the judge be considered as a subsidiary of others? Are these cases compatible with the common belief that a judge cannot create law? Is this a peculiarity of international law, which is characterized by the existence of several courts but the lack of a legislator? Do decisions by different courts lead to the consequence of a fragmented international law? This volume provides the reader with an elaboration of various questions linked to the legislative role of courts.

In their choices of subjects, some contributors have taken into account the general aspects of the development of international rules through court decisions or specific sectors of international law, such as human rights, international crimes, international economic law, environmental law and the law of the sea. Others have chosen the subject of the rules on jurisdiction and procedure of international courts. The question of the courts’ role in the development of areas of law different from public international law, namely private international law and European Union law, has also been considered.

The information and views contained in this book will be of great value to academics, students, judges, practitioners and all others interested in the public and private international law aspects of the link between international courts and the development of international law.

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Table of contents (63 chapters)

Front matter, personal perspectives, homage to judge tullio treves.

• Bernard H. Oxman

L’Équation de Salomon

• Pierre-Marie Dupuy

General Aspects

Le juge et la codification du droit de la responsabilité.

• Maurizio Arcari

The Effect of Armed Conflict on Treaties: A Stocktaking

• Lucius Caflisch

The Growth of Specialized International Tribunals and the Fears of Fragmentation of International Law

• Hugo Caminos

The “Right Mix” and “Ambiguities” in Particular Customs: A Few Remarks on the Navigational and Related Rights Case

• Luigi Crema

State Immunity: A Swedish Perspective

• Said Mahmoudi

Interpreting “Generic Terms”: Between Respect for the Parties’ Original Intention and the Identification of the Ordinary Meaning

• Paolo Palchetti

International Courts: Jurisdiction and Procedure

Dispute settlement procedures and fresh water: multiplicity and diversity at stake.

• Laurence Boisson de Chazournes

Quelques observations sur les mesures conservatoires indiquées par la Cour de La Haye

• Pierre Michel Eisemann

Evidence Before the International Court of Justice: Issues of Fact and Questions of Law in the Determination of International Custom

• Luigi Fumagalli

Competence and Jurisdiction in Public International Law: International Courts in the Americas

• Luis García-Corrochano Moyano

Procedural Aspects Concerning Jurisdiction and Admissibility in Cases of Maritime Delimitation Before the ICJ

• Angel V. Horna

Brief Notes on the Principle of Non Bis in Idem within Concurrent International and Domestic Criminal Jurisdiction

• Fausto Pocar

Jura Novit Curia in International Human Rights Tribunals

• Dinah Shelton

The Composition of the International Court of Justice

• Budislav Vukas

Editors and Affiliations

Nerina Boschiero, Chiara Ragni

Tullio Scovazzi

Cesare Pitea

About the editors

Nerina Boschiero and Tullio Scovazzi are both professor of international law at the Universities of, respectively, Milan and Milano-Bicocca, Italy. Chiara Ragni and Cesare Pitea are both researcher in international law at the Universities of, respectively, Milan and Parma, Italy.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : International Courts and the Development of International Law

Book Subtitle : Essays in Honour of Tullio Treves

Editors : Nerina Boschiero, Tullio Scovazzi, Cesare Pitea, Chiara Ragni

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-894-1

Publisher : T.M.C. Asser Press The Hague

eBook Packages : Humanities, Social Sciences and Law , Law and Criminology (R0)

Copyright Information : T.M.C. ASSER PRESS, The Hague, The Netherlands, and the authors 2013

Hardcover ISBN : 978-90-6704-893-4 Published: 28 March 2013

eBook ISBN : 978-90-6704-894-1 Published: 15 March 2013

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XXXIX, 951

Topics : Human Rights , Law of the Sea, Air and Outer Space , International Environmental Law , International Economic Law, Trade Law , Public International Law , Private International Law, International & Foreign Law, Comparative Law

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Essays on International Law

• Description

This book contains ten writings on different aspects of international law, each of them cross-referenced, in instances in which information in one is relevant to points made in another. The first essay considers the character of the subject, and its relation to other entities of relevance to it, such as its compatibility with national law and its relation to maritime law. The second one considers different types of legal instruments in settings of international law, and explains how to read a multilateral convention, using the Convention for the International Sale of Goods as an example. The third part discusses the characteristics of a state and the concept of recognition, the fourth reviews the various roles that institutions take in international law, concentrating in particular on major regional organisations, and the fifth explores the extent to which the World Trade Organisation and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade provide for developing countries.

Essay Six summarises the framework for international labour law and investigates its contents and workings, then the seventh considers which countries predominate in the running of international institutions. The eighth paper explores how regional entities might co-operate with international institutions in the harmonisation of the law, and the ninth one investigates the place of negotiation as a method of international dispute resolution. Finally, the tenth essay considers the past, present and future of international law, and reviews especially the role of language.

Graeme Baber is an independent legal researcher, specializing in international, European and United Kingdom financial law. He has published more than 30 articles, comments, briefings and updates across these areas, and his previous books with Cambridge Scholars Publishing include The Impact of Legislation and Regulation on the Freedom of Movement of Capital in Estonia, Poland and Latvia and The Free Movement of Capital and Financial Services: An Exposition? His most recent book is a treatise entitled The European Union and the Global Financial Crisis: A View from 2016 (Nova Science Publishers). Graeme is an experienced teacher of university students, lecturing on both financial law and international law.

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ISBN: 1-4438-4378-4

ISBN13: 978-1-4438-4378-2

Release Date: 23rd December 2016

Price: £74.99

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Beyond Intractability

The Hyper-Polarization Challenge to the Conflict Resolution Field We invite you to participate in an online exploration of what those with conflict and peacebuilding expertise can do to help defend liberal democracies and encourage them live up to their ideals.

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By Eric Brahm

September 2003  

International law has emerged from an effort to deal with conflict among states, since rules provide order and help to mitigate destructive conflict. It is developed in a number of ways. First, law often comes out of international agreements and treaties between states. Treaties are the most important source of international law and also serve as the origins of IGOs, which in turn are important sources of law. Second, customary practices that have evolved over time often become codified in law. Third, general legal principles that are common to a significant number of states can become part of the corpus of international law. Finally, law arises from the community of international legal scholars. Particularly on more technical issues, their expertise is often accepted by political leaders.

The existence of law, however, does not mean that conflict is any easier to resolve.[1] Instead, as law becomes more elaborate and constraining, it becomes increasingly contentious. The powerful do not wish to be constrained in their ability to respond to threats. At the same time, developing countries see much of international law as being crafted largely without their input, primarily due to the so-called democratic deficit in intergovernmental organizations ( IGOs ), which now are typically the negotiating venues for the creation of new law.

In this essay, we discuss the origins of international law, and analyze how international law has evolved in the twentieth century, focusing on the individualization of international law. Finally, we examine some of the contemporary criticisms of international law.

Is International Law Real Law?

Perhaps the first question to ask is whether in fact international law is law at all. The primary distinction between domestic and international law is that the latter often lacks an enforcement mechanism. There is no government to enforce the law, as there is in domestic situations. International law is often as much a source of conflict as it is a solution to them. Most forms of international law are contested. Rarely is it agreed upon universally. As will be seen below, it is not enforceable unless powerful countries see it in their interest to do so. What is more, cross-cultural differences make its interpretation and implementation difficult. Another question is whether international laws can be considered law if they are not translated into domestic laws where there is greater potential for enforcement. By adapting international law into domestic statutes, governments theoretically provide enforcement mechanisms . There are also instances in which domestic law not only does not contain international law, but is in fact in contradiction to it.

Despite all of this, international law is often followed. This can be attributed in part to Great Power backing, but also much of international law is based on customary practice. International law may be enforced by states taking unilateral action if it is in their interest or through multilateral measures where sufficient consensus exists. Reciprocity can play a role, as benefits in other areas may be gained from following laws. In addition to ad hoc efforts to enforce international laws, a number of formal courts have been established for that purpose.

International Courts

Historical origins.

It can be argued that international law began in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia, which asserted the sovereign equality of states. Rules concerning the conduct of war ( jus ad bellum and jus in bello ) soon emerged, most famously codified in the Geneva Conventions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Organizations soon emerged to facilitate the creation of law and to mediate disputes. The League of Nations sought unsuccessfully to effectively outlaw war. Recently, the clearest source of international law has been the United Nations. The U.N. Charter defines the conditions for the legal use of force, and the U.N. has served as the principal negotiating venue for the creation of new international law. The most recent development has been international law targeting individuals rather than states, as is evidenced by the creation of the International Criminal Court. These issues will be taken up after a review of state-oriented courts.

The International Court of Justice

States have created an evolving collection of international institutions to facilitate the creation and maintenance of international law. The Hague Conference of 1899 established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which was an institution to which states could come for dispute settlement. It was a forerunner to the Permanent Court of International Justice, created in the aftermath of World War I in 1921. It derived largely from the Treaty of Versailles, and laid the groundwork for the protection of minority rights . The Permanent Court of International Justice was reconstituted in 1946 as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is still in existence.

The ICJ was created as a judicial body to hear cases involving disputes between nation-states. It is made up of 15 judges, elected for nine-year terms. The judges are elected by the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council, based on nominations made to the Secretary-General. In order for the ICJ to hear a case, all state parties to the dispute must accept its jurisdiction. The ICJ remained marginal until the 1980s as the Soviet bloc rejected it, and Third World states soured on the idea after some early unfavorable rulings. After the ICJ ruled against the U.S. in the case brought by Nicaragua regarding the mining of Nicaraguan waters, however, it gained renewed credibility, the number of states recognizing its jurisdiction jumped dramatically, and its docket was flooded with cases.[2]

European Courts

Europe has seen the most dramatic development of supranational courts. The European Court of Justice is the sole judicial organ for the European Union. It is independent in its decision-making, and its purpose is to ensure that European law is followed. The court's independence is enhanced by the fact that only one judgment of the court is released, not individual positions. The Court is generally regarded as one of the most "European-minded" institutions in the E.U., in other words acting on the principles articulated for the E.U., rather than on state interests.[3] The European Court of Human Rights has been the most active of any international human rights court, with individuals utilizing it more to assert rights than in the resolution of interstate disputes.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The Americas have also developed a significant regional court system. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights was established in the 1970s and has acted primarily as an advisory body; it has never heard a case. At times, it has been criticized as a tool for the United States to wield influence over its neighbors. However, it has also proven to be an important moral voice in the region, particularly as Latin American states have struggled with political transitions.

International Law and Conflict Management

States have long relied on treaties and other international agreements for security against war. The first important move beyond laws of war was the Kellogg-Briand Pact, signed by 63 countries in 1928, which condemned "recourse to war for the solution of international controversies" and foreswore war as an instrument of policy. However, the conflicts of the 1930s made this agreement moot.

Many of the core principles of international law related to conflict prevention have been incorporated into the U.N. Charter. They are:

• the prohibition of the use of force unless in self-defense [Article 2(4)];
• the primacy of national sovereignty [Article 2(7)], and
• the advancement of human rights [Universal Declaration of Human Rights].

These principles often prove to be in tension with one another, however. This confusion was exacerbated by subsequent treaties, such as the 1948 convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In practice, the protection of human rights has placed limitations on respecting state sovereignty, and force has been deemed the only effective means to protect human rights on a number of occasions.

One of the clearest appeals to international law emerged with respect to Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The Iraqi invasion was a clear violation of Kuwaiti sovereignty, and the ensuing Gulf War was a multilateral effort to enforce international law. The growing role of international law can be seen in the creation of the "no-fly zones" in Iraq via U.N. Security Council Resolution 688 of April 1991, which served as the legal precedent for a range of initiatives later in the decade, from Somalia to East Timor.

Initially, these actions were rationalized by arguing that internal conflict had effects that spilled across borders, but human rights discourse increasingly replaced this argument.[4] These principles of state sovereignty and human rights came into clear conflict in the war in the Balkans. Yugoslavia responded in part to Western threats by making appeals to international law. Yugoslavia sued the NATO countries in the International Court of Justice for aggression and genocide. The Court rejected the argument, but the legality of the Kosovo bombing remains uncertain.[5]

The question of terrorism has also become a difficult one for states to deal with using international law, particularly as targets become increasingly international. Some steps have been taken to address these issues. A number of conventions have been created to deal with issues ranging from aircraft hijacking to hostage-taking and abductions, but all suffer from lack of enforcement. Part of the difficulty in dealing with terrorism is a general lack of consensus over what groups and tactics would fall under such law. The law, however, still largely reflects an overly state-centric view that makes it difficult to deal with the growth of transnational groups. Taking action against groups often requires infringing on sovereignty, another core principle of international law.

Individualization of International Law

One of the most dramatic developments in international law has been the growth of laws focusing on the individual, which provide protection and require accountability. Whereas in the past, international law focused primarily on regulating state behavior and defining states rights, it has increasingly been involved in identifying individual rights and holding individuals accountable. This trend began after WWII. The identification of individual responsibility in the Nuremberg Trials after World War II was followed by the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. The Declaration passed largely because the Communist Bloc was abstaining at the time. In the years that have followed, there has been a proliferation of international covenants that have specified additional rights. The Yugoslav and Rwandan war crimes tribunals established by the U.N. in the 1990s, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and international covenants specifying additional rights, represent further developments.

Of the two war crimes tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has received the most attention. The ICTY initially suffered because it pursued only low-level criminals, assuming that peace negotiations required the participation of high-level leaders. Yet in mid-1995 Prosecutor Richard Goldstone indicted Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. The peace talks continued, and the former leaders became increasingly marginalized,[6] although they remain at large. States have often been reluctant to aggressively go after war criminals if their soldiers would be placed in harm's way.[7] The ICTY became more aggressive when it indicted Slobodan Milosevic, a sitting head of state, in May 1999 for crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court (ICC)

The events of the 1990s, and the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the ICTY, did much to draw renewed attention to the idea of a global criminal court. The forerunner of the ICC was modeled on programs such as the United Nations War Crimes Commission, which was established by the Allies in 1943. In the post-war years, the idea of a permanent court was much talked about, but was overshadowed by the Cold War and reemerged only in 1989 initially as a means to deal with the international drug trade. Both the ICTY and ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) pointed to the need for a permanent body that would be a stronger deterrent and also could be more efficient, since the cost of a standing body could be less than the start-up costs of ad hoc bodies.

In late 1995, the U.N. General Assembly created the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (PrepCom), which held a series of sessions over the next three years. Intense diplomatic activity ensued, culminating in a June-July 1998 diplomatic conference that resulted in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Jurisdiction over genocide , crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression was granted the ICC, although the latter crime awaits further diplomatic clarification. The statute entered into force in 2002 after the ratification by the requisite 60 countries. In early 2003, the judges and the Prosecutor were elected. Judges must be nationals of one of the State Parties (states that signed and ratified the agreement) and possess legal expertise. The judiciary must be balanced in a number of respects, representing: the major legal systems of the world; geographic areas; gender; and expertise on specific issues. The 18 judges are elected by the Assembly of States Parties and serve a single nine-year term. The Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor(s) are elected by an absolute majority of the Assembly of States Parties for a single nine-year term. Procedures have also been established for the early removal of judges and prosecutors, to ensure accountability.

Bringing a case before the ICC is a relatively long process. For the ICC to act, jurisdiction must be accepted by either the state where the crime was committed, or the state from which the accused came. If ICC jurisdiction exists, investigations may be initiated in a number of ways. A state-party can bring a case. The U.N. Security Council also can, even in circumstances where the jurisdiction outlined above does not exist. In addition, the Prosecutor may also initiate the process him or herself, although the Pre-Trial Chamber must approve of any investigation initiated by the Prosecutor by finding that there is a reasonable basis to proceed and that the case falls within ICC jurisdiction.

What is more, the ICC is meant to be complementary to national courts. Therefore, the ICC will not proceed if a State is or has been investigating the crime, unless the State is seen to be unwilling or unable to proceed. The ICC Prosecutor must notify all states that it is initiating an investigation, and states are able to assert a superior right to exercise jurisdiction. The U.N. Security Council can block proceedings through a positive resolution, but this prohibition lasts for only one year. Once a case has been initiated, the Prosecutor evaluates whether to proceed with the investigation. It is the job of the Pre-Trial Chamber to determine whether to issue warrants and orders requested by the Prosecutor. If the warrant is issued, after the accused has been informed of the charges against him or her, the Pre-Trial Chamber determines whether to confirm the charges. The trial would proceed from there.

The strength of the ICC remains to be proven, particularly since the U.S. does not support the court. The U.S. is concerned that its troops on peacekeeping missions would be subject to prosecution that might be politically motivated. The U.S. would also like the Prosecutor to have less independent authority, and more control exercised by the Security Council, where the U.S. has veto power. Other countries may have similar misgivings, but may lack the international influence to take a decisive stand. They may fear the potential embarrassment of having their human rights records put on trial. Leaders who have violated the human rights of their citizens or others may fear prosecution. The U.S. case remains somewhat unique since it has the largest military in the world and tends to be involved in more places more frequently. It also reflects a concern for entangling international obligations that has been an undercurrent of U.S. foreign policy for much of its history. In essence, the U.S. is reluctant to give up the ability to act in its self-interest that its power provides.

Critiques of International Law

Although much of this discussion has portrayed international law as a potential means of conflict management or resolution, it should be remembered that law is itself a source of significant conflict. The shape and content of law often favors particular groups or countries. Not only is international law often most influential when it favors the strongest, but the powerful are also typically the source of law. For example, because much of international law is formed by the U.N., the Security Council has a disproportionate influence in shaping it.

One prominent example of might makes right in international law is in the realm of laws related to trade and investment. Enforcement comes largely through power, which means that the developed world often controls the agenda. They have the market power to punish and entice smaller states to comply. The creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 marked a dramatic advancement in the development of trade law and enforcement mechanisms over what existed under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO has been widely criticized for "green room"[8] agenda-setting by the global North, and other actions that put the South at a disadvantage.[9] New laws also create significant administrative burden for poor states, which is perhaps not bad for the long run, but makes for costly compliance.[10]

At base, though, law is only as effective as the means of enforcement and developing countries lack the power to retaliate effectively. Trade law is branching out into new areas as well, which will potentially put the South at an even greater disadvantage. Efforts are in various stages to link trade law to a range of issues from intellectual property regulations (TRIPs) to the environment to labor standards. TRIPs appear to favor Northern multinational corporations, while not protecting indigenous knowledge.[11] It also promises to make the cost of drugs to fight deadly illnesses such as AIDS a severe burden for poor countries. In terms of environmental law, it is often seen by the South as cutting off the path to development that the North took long ago, leaving the South in permanent dependency.

At the same time, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding does take many steps to help developing countries operate on equal footing, compared to the GATT.[12] Each case must have a representative from the South as one of the three hearing the case. Voting is more explicit than under the GATT. Provisions have also been made to provide expertise to delegations from the South, but they are still left unable to shape the agenda. In sum, the WTO Dispute Settlement System does provide better opportunity for developing countries to bring complaints, but they often lack the technical expertise to take advantage of it.

International law has also been criticized as fundamentally Western. Certainly, most international law is based on Western notions. One sign of this might be that the Western Countries are more compliant with the international laws on human rights.[13] Others argue, however, that the widespread acceptance of international law is evidence that the principles on which it is based are not strictly Western. Still, it is not clear that many developing countries are entirely free to accede to these rules, as the WTO example above suggests. Western countries are able to provide incentives for less powerful countries to accede to their wishes. Either way, however, it means that international law has at least some force behind it, though not nearly as much as domestic legal systems.

[1] William A. Schabas, "International Law and Response to Conflict," in Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict , eds. Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2001), 603-618. < http://www.amazon.com/Turbulent-Peace-Challenges-Managing-International/dp/1929223277 >.

[3] Trevor C. Hartley, The Foundations of European Community Law, Third Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994). Access revised edition (2010) here.

[4] Schabas 2001.

[5] Ibid, 607.

[7] Gary Jonathan Bass, Stay the Hand of Vengeance : The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2000). < http://books.google.com/books?id=M3XeD1OvxRYC >.

[8] So called green room deals refer to pre-negotiation meetings of representatives of developed countries in which they agree to a position for negotiations involving the broader international community. Given their power and influence, they are then able to present a unified front in negotiations with developing countries and therefore shape the debate such to favor their interests.

[9] Sarah Anderson, ed., Views from the South: The Effects of Globalization and the WTO on Third World Countries (Chicago: Food First Books, 2000) < http://books.google.com/books?id=fai2AAAAIAAJ >.; Walden Bello, "Reforming the WTO is the Wrong Agenda," in Globalize This!: The Battle Against the World Trade Organization and Corporate Rule, eds. Kevin Danaher and Roger Burback (Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 2000) 103-119. < http://books.google.com/books?id=3lRjQgAACAAJ >.

[10] Magda Shahin, From Marrakesh to Singapore: The WTO and Developing Countries. Penang, Malaysia: Third World Network. < http://books.google.com/books?id=CdC2AAAAIAAJ >.

[11]Anderson 2000.

[12] Kofi Oteng Kufuor, "From the GATT to the WTO -- The Developing Countries and the Reform of the Procedures for the Settlement of International Trade Disputes," Journal of World Trade 31, no. 5 (October 1997): 117-147.

[13] Louis Henkin, The Age of Rights (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990). < http://books.google.com/books?id=jxYCBOV1IwwC >.

Use the following to cite this article: Brahm, Eric. "International Law." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: September 2003 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/international-law >.

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International Law-making

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This book explores law-making in international affairs and is compiled to celebrate the 50th birthday of Professor Jan Klabbers, a leading international law and international relations scholar who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the sources of international legal obligations and the idea of constitutionalism in international law. Inspired by Professor Klabbers’ wide-ranging interests in international law and his interdisciplinary approach, the book examines law-making through a variety of perspectives and seeks to breaks new ground in exploring what it means to think and write about law and its creation.

While examining the substance of international law, these contributors raise more general concerns, such as the relationship between law-making and the application of law, the role and conflict between various institutions, and the characteristics of the formal sources of international law. The book will be of great interest to students and academics of legal theory, international relations, and international law.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part | 118  pages, legislation and globalisation, chapter | 14  pages, legislating for humanity, chapter | 22  pages, declaratory legislation, chapter | 18  pages, legalism and the 'dark' side of global governance, global legislation and its discontents, chapter | 28  pages, informal international law as presumptive law, chapter | 16  pages, mankind's territory and the limits of international law-making, part | 50  pages, domestic and international, chapter | 15  pages, (international) law, chapter | 13  pages, perspectivism in law, chapter | 20  pages, law-making through comparative international law, part | 89  pages, institutions and participants, chapter | 19  pages, international responsibility and problematic law-making, chapter | 21  pages, law-making and international environmental law, in search of a voice, chapter | 24  pages, 'in principle the full review', chapter | 9  pages, law-making by human rights treaty bodies, part | 71  pages, uncertainties and gaps, chapter | 10  pages, peremptory law-making, chapter | 12  pages, law-making and the law of the sea, slowly but surely, treaties, custom and universal jurisdiction, chapter | 17  pages, making the right choice.

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The Structure and Process of International Law

Essays in legal philosophy, doctrine and theory, series:  developments in international law , volume: 6.

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International Legal Theory: New Frontiers Of the Discipline

Natural law: the tradition of universal reason and authority, will and order in the nation-state system: observations on positivism and positive international law, the marxist-leninist approach: the theory of class struggle and contemporary international law, international law in policy-oriented perspective, the schools revisited, the heritage of political thought in international law, international economic theory and international economic law: on the tasks of a legal theory of international economic order, a sociological perspective on international law, modern conference techniques: insights from social psychology and anthropology, the influence of history on the literature of international law, subjects: entitlement in the international legal system, sovereignty and international law, equality: political justice in an unequal world, consent: strains in the treaty system, custom: the future of general state practice in a divided world, jurisdiction: changing patterns of authority over activities and resources, state responsibility: new theories of obligation in interstate relations, recognition in theory and practice, the common interest: tension between the whole and the parts, the future of regionalism in an asymmetrical international society, the conceptual apparatus of international law, international and municipal law: the complementarity of legal systems, the nature and process of legal development in international society, the impact of international organizations on the development and application of public international law, majority rule and consensus technique in law-making diplomacy, the united nations charter: constitution or contract, the role of political revolution in the theory of international law, the third world and international law, human rights: the hard road towards universality, the minimum standards in a world of disparities, towards a new world information and communication order: problems of access and cultural development, the international protection of the environment, peaceful settlement of disputes between states: history and prospects, the future of dispute settlement, the role of controversy in international legal development, coercion and the theory of sanctions in international law, the future of idealism in international law: structuralism, humanism, and survivalism, contributors, share link with colleague or librarian, product details.

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• International Law Essays

International Law Essays (Examples)

Filter by keywords:(add comma between each), example essays.

International Law the Concept of

Question Anyone who has ever seen a car with a diplomatic license plate parked illegally will seethe and curse diplomatic immunity as a concept. However, without diplomatic immunity, U.S. diplomats would be subject to the laws of Islamic states, or states whose values and principles they found abhorrent. Furthermore, remember: "First and foremost, the diplomat is still covered by the laws of his home country, and may be prosecuted under those laws for any crimes he commits in the host country. Moreover, the privilege of immunity belongs to the home country, not the individual diplomat," in short, a diplomat functions on…...

mla Works Cited International Court of Justice. (2008). Homepage. Retrieved 16 Apr 2008 at   http://www.icj-cij.org/homepage/index.php?p1=0  Zotti, Ed. (2005). "What's the story on diplomatic immunity?"

International Environmental Law International Law

The recognition of the need for a multilateral agreement with the world's major whaling nations on board was landmark, and paved the way for other agreements in future, such as the near-global ban on the ivory trade. Another significant conference was the so-called "Earth Summit," in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This summit resulted was the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and produced non-binding commitments by signatory nations to reduce their output of greenhouse gases. An ongoing conference is the meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which is currently meeting in Brazil and will…...

mla Works Cited: No author. (2008). Codification and Progressive Development of International Law. United Nations. Retrieved November 15, 2009 from   http://www.un.org/law/lindex.htm  Convention on Biological Diversity website, various pages. (2009). Retrieved November 15, 2009 from   http://www.cbd.int 

International Law Describe Two Major

hat possible restrictions might the business face in conducting its business operations? There are two types of foreign investment: indirect investment and direct investment. Direct investment involves placing physical assets in the foreign country such as building a plant, or establishing a store front. Indirect forms of investment involve activities such as financing, forming strategic partnerships, joint marketing efforts or other activities in which the foreign company does not physically occupy the country of investiture. Foreign investment of any type is risky simply due to the unfamiliarity of the location. The company will have to explore different customs and deal with…...

mla Works Cited International Seabed Authority. 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.   Accessed December 11, 2006. http://www.isa.org.jm/en/default.htm . United Nations (UN).

International Laws and Terrorism Fighting Fair Most

International Laws and Terrorism Fighting Fair Most would agree that peace and negotiation is preferable over war. However, we as humans, know that this dreamy ideology is often difficult to achieve. War is a part of human history and will be likely to continue to be far into the future. International laws recognize the inevitability of war and have adopted several sets of international legislation that govern the conduct of war. If a person is caught breaking these rules, even under the most hostile of situations, they can be tried for war crimes and punished accordingly. Legislation such as the Hague ules…...

mla References Babington, C. & Abramowitz, M. (2006). U.S. Shifts Policy on Geneva Conventions. Washington Post. July 12, 2006 p. A01. Retrieved May 10, 2011 from   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071100094.html  Hamdi Et Al. V. Rumsfeld, Secretary Of Defense, et al.(2004)542 U.S. 507 Retrieved May 10, 2011 from   http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=U.S.&vol=000&invol=03-6696&friend 

International Law and Its Enforcement

The judges of the Court of Appeal consequently ruled that this Convention applied to the transportation between Paris and Dublin. This overrode the airline's terms and conditions including those limiting its liability. Appeal Courts can review findings of fact, but more importantly business people responsible for shipments must understand their contracts and the implications of the various Conventions. This must be backed up by appropriate goods-in-transit insurance. The result is more administration and paperwork by keeping records of consignments and their values. If goods go missing, so that customers rightly refuse to pay their invoices, businesses must have sufficient compensation…...

mla WORKS CITED Barron, J. 2008. Do your homework: Cultivating an effective international business relationship takes time, dedication and preparation, but almost always pays out in the long run. Business Credit. National Association of Credit Management. HighBeam Research. Available at:   [07 October 2009]. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-177913876.html  Bourque, J. & de Sousa, P. 2005. Making sense of trade treaties: as world trade grows more complex, the rules for international business are also growing in number and intricacy. How can countries with limited resources spot and adopt the major trade treaties? And how can they participate in drafting new trade rules? International Trade Forum. HighBeam Research. Available at:   [Accessed 07 October 2009]. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144202591.html 

International Law Affect State Behaviour

After several analyses of the topics proposed, the conclusion is that the research methods that the thesis will use are multiple and interconnections between them are crucial for the positive delivery of the research questions. By using the historical method, the context of various international law breaking episodes is better understood as this has a huge value for the decision of a certain country. In a different historical context, the same country could chose to respect international law even if its interests and long-term strategies would be the same as in a negative example. This is also very visible in…...

International Laws or Aspects of Law That

international laws or aspects of law that must be adhered to by iordan and an outline of these steps for employees to adhere to these laws This is written with the intention of creating a plan that incorporates the three-pronged framework of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) to provide parties with an all-around directive for managing the legal liability of officers and directors of iordan. The plan details how to handle situations when parties violate laws or laws are in question (such as when to call in legal counsel, what rights employees have, or who to turn to or when…...

mla References AICPA (2011). Code of Professional Conduct and Bylaws. Retrieved on 1/27/2013 from:   http://www.aicpa.org/research/standards/codeofconduct/downloadabledocuments/2011june1codeofprofessionalconduct.pdf 

International Law The Text Class Legal Aspects

international law. The text class "Legal Aspects International Business: a Canadian Perspective," Second Edition Mary Jo Nicholson. I uploaded requirements essay outline document. Now topic essay long an international legal issue relates business. The growth and significance of NGOs Non-governmental organizations or NGOs, as they are commonly referred to, have been instrumental in promoting economic and social development in both developed and developing countries. The term NGO stems from the late 1980s when these organizations began to become part of the development and research agenda in fields such as democracy building, human rights, conflict resolution, cultural preservation, policy analysis, environmental activism,…...

mla References Cernea, M.M. (1988). Non-governmental organizations and local development. Washington DC: World Bank. Edwards, M., & Hulme, D. (1996). Too close for comfort: NGOs, the state and donors. World Development, 24(6), 961-973.

International Law & Rights

IOS of Authors The author of this report will be writing short biography summaries for seventeen different authors and pundits within the transitional justice scholarly sphere. About a third to half a page will be dedicated each. The names involved include William Schabas, Ryn Slyle and Dapo Akande. The background, ethnicity and famous works (if any) will be given for each. While there are varying beliefs and backgrounds with the authors, there is still a general pattern among them that should be taken seriously. iographies Willian Schabas Schabas is a white male that is in his 60's and lives in the greater Toronto…...

mla Bibliography BICI,. 2015. 'Dr. Mahnoush H. Arsanjani | BICI'. Bici.Org.Bh.   http://www.bici.org.bh/index499b.html?commissioner=dr-mahnhoush-h-arsanjani . Cambridge,. 2015. 'Dr. Sarah Nouwen - Faculty Of Law'. Law.Cam.Ac.Uk.   http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/smh-nouwen/40 .

To What Extent Does International Law Affect State Behavior

international law affect state behavior? How does international Law affect state behavior? International law has been established in order to create civil relations between countries. However, the International Court of Justice has no power to enforce either laws or judgements on the states that violate those laws, and States can obey or disobey the ICJ decisions as they see fit. Usually the states breaking international laws interpret them in a way that benefits them and justifies their actions. (International Law) There is much controversy regarding international law and the effect it has on individual states, especially considering that there are numerous cultures…...

mla By maintaining sovereignty, governments have the advantage of choosing the types of transactions they conduct. Authorities in some countries prefer to have control over the money that enters and leaves their territories and hence want to have the right to intervene "to conserve foreign exchange in whatever ways they consider appropriate" (Simmons, 2000). The IMF mainly intends to prevent such activities from taking place, as it acknowledges the fact that they directly hinder the expansion of free foreign-exchange markets (Simmons, 2000). All things considered, international law is essentially meant to guarantee the well-being of people from around the world. However, by accepting legislation proposed by this regulation system, some countries risk losing a series of advantages. In trying to realize what is best for their state, leaders come across ethical dilemmas, since they potentially eliminate several privileges from their citizens when they accept international law. Many countries although supporting strongly the values and rules of international law, often break or circumvent these rules in order to reach their cultural or economic goals. Some countries do so only after taking a large number of variables into consideration, and some break these rules out of a political impulse that often does

The Foundation of International Law

Is International law, law at all?Law is presumed to be a set of rules used to govern the citizens. International law is a body of law used to appropriately govern the legal relationship between or among sovereign states. However, there have been questions about whether it is a law or an international relation (d'Amato, 1984). For instance, within a country, the legislative branch of the government creates the rules, the judiciary interprets them, while the executive ensures they are enforced. In most cases, the police force the citizens to abide by the rules created (Thirlway, 2019).On the contrary, international law…...

mla References d\\\'Amato, A. (1984). Is international law really law. Nw. UL Rev., 79, 1293. Guicherd, C. (1999). International Law and. Survival, 41(2), 19-34.

Peaceful Solutions to International Disputes The Role of the International Court of Justice

Selected Questions and Answers in International LawQuestion 1. What does Germany invoke as the basis for the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in Questions of jurisdictional immunities of the State and measures of constraint against State-owned property?a. Issue:The application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) submitted by Germany on April 29, 2022, maintained that Italy violated Germans sovereign immunity when it allowed victims from Italy to file claims against Germany in Italian courts for violations of international humanitarian law that were committed against the Italian victims and/or their relatives at some point during World War II. In…...

mla References Article 1 of the European Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes. (1957). Council of Europe. European Treaty Series No. 23.

Democratic Republic of Congo versus Belgium Case

Legal Brief: Democratic Republic of Congo versus Belgium [2002], International Court of Justice 1 Issue The overarching issue involved in this case concerns the ability of one sovereign nation to issue an arrest warrant against a foreign official for breaking customary international laws. In sum, the issue involved the issuance of an international arrest warrant in absentia for an African foreign affairs minister by a Belgian judge in response to public speeches that were purportedly responsible for genocidal acts against an ethnic minority. Although the Belgian judge issued the international arrest warrant for violations of the sovereignty of another country which were…...

mla References Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi (2016). Trial International. [online] available:  https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/abdoulaye-yerodia-ndombasi/ . Alexander, Klinton W. (2000, Spring). NATO\'S Intervention in Kosovo: The Legal Case for Violating Yugoslavia\'s National Sovereignty in the Absence of Security Council Approval. Houston Journal of International Law, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 403-410. Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000. (2017). Casebriefs LLC. [online] available:  http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/international-law/international-law-keyed-to-damrosche/chapter-12/arrest-warrant-of-11-april-2000-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-v-belgium/ . Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium). Public International Law. [online] available:  https://ruwanthikagunaratne.wordpress.com/2012/  07/27/belgian-arrest-warrant-case-summary/.. Belgian Arrest Warrant Case (2008). Ruwanthika Gunaratne and Public International Law. [online] available:

Tribunals and their importance

Why are tribunals very important among two or more countries? If a nation is involved in claims with another nation, the question of how far each nation respects the independent sovereignty of the other and the integrity of its own judicial system arises. To this effect, tribunals play a crucial role of arbitrating the claims between the involved countries while at the same time recognizing and respecting the sovereignty and the judicial system of each country (Root, 1909). For a sovereign country, there is no legal obligation that requires it to make any submission to a rule set up by a superior…...

mla References Clark, P. (2010). The Gacaca courts, post-genocide justice and reconciliation in Rwanda: Justice without lawyers. Cambridge University Press. de Sousa Santos, B., & Rodríguez-Garavito, C. A. (Eds.). (2005). Law and globalization from below: towards a cosmopolitan legality. Cambridge University Press. Hoffman, S. J., & Sossin, L. (2012). Empirically evaluating the impact of adjudicative tribunals in the health sector: context, challenges and opportunities. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 7(2), 147-174. Mueller, S. D. (2014). Kenya and the International Criminal Court (ICC): politics, the election and the law. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 8(1), 25-42. Root, E. (1909). The Relations Between International Tribunals of Arbitration and the Jurisdiction of National Courts 1. American Journal of International Law, 3(3), 529-536.

International Law Assess the Legality

The case involving Milosevic was has different sub-plots, as he would claim that the actions he took were to prevent the country from being overrun by terrorists. Yet, at the same time, as some of these atrocities were being committed, NATO would attack Serbia in an effort to halt these violations. In this aspect, one could argue that the actions taken by NATO were in violation of international law. As they were not supported by a UN mandate, instead the actions were NATO countries working in concert with one another to go after Serbia. This is despite the fact that…...

mla Bibliography Franck, Thomas. "What Happens Now?" American Society of International Law. 97, no. 3 (2003): 607 -- 620. Goldsmith, Jack. "The Limits of Idealism." Daedulus. 132, no. 1. (2003): 47 -- 63.

Need help writing a 900 word essay with title and resources on global war?

Title: The Impact of Global Wars on Societies: Causes, Consequences, and Lessons Introduction: Global wars have shaped world history, leaving indelible imprints on societies and cultures. This essay explores the causes, consequences, and lessons derived from the major global wars in history. By examining significant conflicts such as World War I, World War II, and the Cold War, we gain an understanding of the profound socio-political changes and humanitarian crises resulting from these wars. Utilizing a range of authoritative resources, this essay aims to present a comprehensive examination of global wars and their legacy. I. Causes of Global Wars A. Imperialism and Expansionism -....

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Cambridge essays in international law; essays in honour of Lord McNair

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Essays in International Litigation for Lord Collins

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This book contains a collection of essays written by many jurists who have been privileged to count Lawrence Collins as friend, mentor, and colleague over the course of a remarkable career of more than fifty years in practice and at the Bench. Lawrence’s own contribution is coincident with the rising importance in practice of issues in the conduct of international litigation. It also considers cross-border litigation as it is developing globally and the role of the national judiciary in international cases. The book highlights the reshaping of English private international law, particularly following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. It also discusses the development of international arbitration and the impact of public international law.

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Investigation into the Debate over the Legality of the Use of Force in International Law

Introduction.

This is an investigation into the continued debate over the legality of the use of force in international law.  In what is termed the post “Un Charter” period, there is argued to be a clear prohibition on the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other state as is set down in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter itself. [1]   However, despite this seemingly clear prohibition, the use of force is clearly still prevalent in the world at large.  In addition, the threat of force, including the use of nuclear force has continued to be exhibited by States such as the United States and North Korea, who in the past year have threatened each other with mutual nuclear destruction. [2]   This essay will assess the limits of the prohibition on the use of force in modern international law, and in the light of recent events, will assess whether or not it can be said that the prohibition on the use of force is still effective.

The General Prohibition on the Use of Force

The United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 in the wake of the Second World War in order primarily to ensure that war between States could not again wreak the terrible destruction that had been seen in the first half of the twentieth century. [3]   The general prohibition on the threat or use of force contained in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter is therefore seen as central to the entire mission of the UN, with the principle of prohibiting the unilateral use of force itself being regarded as being the very “raison d’etre” of the UN. [4]   The prohibition appears at first glance to be relatively clear in its scope, as it prohibits the use, or threat of the use of force, against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.  This is however subject to certain exceptions, such as the United Nations’ ability to take collective security measures, including the use of force, if sanctioned by the Security Council under Article 42 UN Charter. [5]   Similarly, States are explicitly entitled to the use of force in self-defence under customary international law as is provided for under Article 51 UN Charter. [6]

It is possible however that these exceptions can be regarded as giving some scope to States to seek to evade the general prohibition on force.  As can be seen by the state of current events in the world today, the use of force, and the threat of the use of force remains prevalent.  Many of the current conflicts in the world can be seen as being initiated primarily for the purposes of altering the political status, independence, or territorial integrity of the States in question and thus these conflicts would appear at first glance to be caught by the reach of Article 2(4) UN Charter as was stated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its landmark judgment in Nicaragua v United States . [7]   For example, the ongoing war in the Donbass region of the Ukraine is aimed primarily at determining or altering the territorial boundaries and integrity of the Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and the Russian annexation of the Crimea in 2014 was a similar exhibition of force aimed at the acquisition of territory. [8]   Similarly, the United States and United Kingdom’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 was specifically stated as being justified by the need to remove the government of Iraq, thus appearing to violate the States’ right to political independence and seemingly falling under the prohibition on the use of force in Article 2(4) UN Charter. [9]   The UN Charter also notably prohibits not only the use of force however, but also its threatened use, but it can be seen that many States continue to threaten the use of force, and even nuclear force against other States in the modern world.  For example, in the past year, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the United States have engaged in a seemingly “tit-for-tat” nuclear threat or standoff.  In particular, North Korea threatened that it could strike the US mainland with nuclear missiles and engaging in the testing of ballistic missile rockets in the Pacific region (including overflights of Japan), whilst the President of the United States, Donald Trump retaliated with threats that the United States would “totally destroy” North Korea in a speech at the United Nations. [10]

It is submitted that many of these threats and uses of force are justified by States on the grounds of self-defence and that this has been made simpler for States because the Charter itself does not specifically cover whether or not the right to self-defence under international law also includes a right to pre-emptive, or anticipatory self-defence.  The legality of this threat will now be considered.

The Legality of the Threat of the Use of Force or Use of Force in Modern International Law and the “Bush Doctrine”

As stated, there has long been disagreement between international lawyers as to whether the exception to the general prohibition on force set out in Article 2(4) UN Charter extends to situations where States seek to pre-emptively defend themselves from an attack or not.  The ICJ in the Nicaragua judgment appeared to have held clearly that an “armed attack” was necessary for a State to invoke its customary right to self-defence under Article 51. [11]   The same was true in Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo [12] where Uganda’s use of force against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was held to be unlawful as it was in retaliation to paramilitary attacks, and not an “armed attack” from the DRC itself. [13]   However, others have argued that the ICJ in Nicaragua “did not say if, and only if and armed attack occurs” could self-defence be lawful. [14]   Instead, some States have argued that the right to self-defence in international law can also extend to anticipatory or pre-emptive self-defence, as was the position of customary international law in the pre-Charter period.  This argument appears to be based on the wording of Article 51 which suggests that the right to self-defence in the Charter is simply a preservation and express re-affirmation of the existing position of customary international law, which therefore survives the Charters transposition of it into treaty. [15]   Furthermore, this is an argument which has become much more popular since the 9/11 attacks, after President George W. Bush launches his global “war on terror” and invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq on the grounds of pre-emptive self-defence and in order to protect the United States from potential attacks including from non-state actors in the form of terrorists. [16]   Under the historical position of customary international law, this form of pre-emptive self-defence is considered lawful, if it is both necessary, and the level of force used is proportionate according to the so called “ Caroline formula”. [17]   These requirements are submitted to have formed part of customary international law through custom, State practice and the opinio juris of scholars and the international judiciary as was seen in the ICJ’s ruling in Advisory Opinion on the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons where the Court held that the retention of nuclear arsenals was itself a threat of nuclear war; however, this threat was necessary as it was a proportionate and necessary response to nuclear proliferation and underpinned the doctrine of mutually assured destruction without which nuclear war might be more likely. [18]   Under the ICJ’s own reading of the right to self-defence in the Nuclear Weapons opinion therefore, the use of nuclear force in self-defence or the threat of nuclear force in anticipatory self-defence is indeed lawful. [19]    Seen in this light, the threat of nuclear destruction promised both by North Korea and by Donald Trump appears to have been within the boundaries of pre-emptive self-defence acknowledged as being permissible under international law, even if the ICJ’s jurisprudence on this point appears somewhat contradictory and confusing when considering the Nicaragua and Congo opinions.  It might well be that following 9/11, the Court and indeed the Members of the UN themselves are now ready to accept threats of force as being regarded as being part of the permissible scope of self-defence under customary international law, which is in turn preserved by Article 51 UN Charter. [20]   This also has the advantage for many states of masking their territorial or political ambitions gained through the use of force with a guise of legality. [21]   This is submitted to be something which the UN Charter was established specifically to prevent, and it may well be that the re-incarnation of pre-emptive self-defence as a part of customary international law poses an existential threat to the continued utility of Article 2(4) and the general prohibition of force under the UN Charter as a whole. [22]

In summary it appears as though State practice after 9/11 appears to be that the use of threats or force in pre-emptive self-defence is lawful if proportionate and necessary, and this has been accepted by the ICJ in their Nuclear Weapons opinion.  The ongoing use of force and the threats of force seen worldwide therefore can be seen in this light as being lawful.  Despite this apparent lawfulness however it can be argued that the current state of international law poses a real threat to the ongoing survival and efficacy of Article 2(4) UN Charter itself, and it might well be suggested that a better position would be for the ICJ to seek to prohibit the use or threat of force more clearly by tightening significantly the control over the use of pre-emptive force in the future.

Bibliography

Table of cases.

Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons [1996] ICJ Rep 226

Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Uganda v Democratic Republic of Congo) [2006] ICJ Rep 126

The Republic of Nicaragua v The United States [1986] ICJ Rep 14

Table of Legislation

Charter of the United Nations 1945

Secondary Sources

Arend AC, ‘International Law and the Preemptive Use of Force’ [2003] 26 The Washington Quarterly 89

Borger J, ‘Donald Trump Threatens to ‘Totally Destroy’ North Korea in UN Speech’ The Guardian, 19 September 2017, available online at; https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/19/donald-trump-threatens-totally-destroy-north-korea-un-speech accessed on 10 June 2018

Crawford J, Brownlie I, Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law (8 th edn OUP 2012)

Crowcroft R, ‘Rising to the Challenge? The State Since 9/11’ in Rachel Utley (ed), 9/11 Ten Years After: Perspectives and Problems (1 st edn Routledge 2016)

Gray C, International Law and the Use of Force (4 th edn OUP 2018)

Gray C, ‘The Use of Force and the International Legal Order’ in Malcom Evans (ed), International Law (4 th edn OUP 2014)

Green J, Grimal F, ‘The Threat of Force as an Action in Self-Defence Under International Law’ [2011] 44 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 285

Helal M ‘Of Fire and Fury: The Threat of Force and the Korean Missile Crisis’ [2017] Opinio Juris, August 30 2017, available online at; http://opiniojuris.org/2017/08/30/of-fire-and-fury-the-threat-of-force-and-the-korean-missile-crisis/ accessed on 11 June 2018

Maogoto J, ‘Rushing to Break the Law? The ‘Bush’ Doctrine of Pre-Emptive Strikes and the UN Charter on the Use of Force’ [2003] 7 UWSLawRw 1

McGuinness M, ‘Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo: The ICJ Finds Uganda Acted Unlawfully and Orders Reparations’ [2006] 10 ASIL [1] 9

Simpson G, ‘Law and Force in the Twenty-First Century’ in David Armstrong (ed), Routledge Handbook of International Law (1 st edn Routledge 2009)

Wilson G, The United Nations and Collective Security (1 st edn Routledge 2014)

[1] Article 2(4) Charter of the United Nations 1945

[2] Mohammed Helal ‘Of Fire and Fury: The Threat of Force and the Korean Missile Crisis’ [2017] Opinio Juris, August 30 2017, available online at; http://opiniojuris.org/2017/08/30/of-fire-and-fury-the-threat-of-force-and-the-korean-missile-crisis/ accessed on 11 June 2018

[3] Anthony Clark Arend, ‘International Law and the Preemptive Use of Force’ [2003] 26 The Washington Quarterly 89, 91

[4] Gary Wilson, The United Nations and Collective Security (1 st edn Routledge 2014) 25

[5] Article 42 Charter of the United Nations 1945

[6] ibid Article 51

[7] The Republic of Nicaragua v The United States [1986] ICJ Rep 14

[8] Christine Gray, International Law and the Use of Force (4 th edn OUP 2018) 33

[9] Gerry Simpson, ‘Law and Force in the Twenty-First Century’ in David Armstrong (ed), Routledge Handbook of International Law (1 st edn Routledge 2009) 200

[10] Julian Borger, ‘Donald Trump Threatens to ‘Totally Destroy’ North Korea in UN Speech’ The Guardian, 19 September 2017, available online at; https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/19/donald-trump-threatens-totally-destroy-north-korea-un-speech accessed on 10 June 2018

[11] The Republic of Nicaragua v The United States [1986] ICJ Rep 14

[12] Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Uganda v Democratic Republic of Congo) [2006] ICJ Rep 126

[13] Margaret McGuinness, ‘Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo: The ICJ Finds Uganda Acted Unlawfully and Orders Reparations’ [2006] 10 ASIL [1] 9, 9

[14] Anthony Clark Arend, ‘International Law and the Preemptive Use of Force’ [2003] 26 The Washington Quarterly 89, 91

[15] James Crawford, Ian Brownlie, Brownlie’s Principles of Public International Law (8 th edn OUP 2012) 751

[16] Christine Gray, ‘The Use of Force and the International Legal Order’ in Malcom Evans (ed), International Law (4 th edn OUP 2014) 630

[17] James Green, Francis Grimal, ‘The Threat of Force as an Action in Self-Defence Under International Law’ [2011] 44 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 285, 300

[18] Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons [1996] ICJ Rep 226

[19] James Green, Francis Grimal, ‘The Threat of Force as an Action in Self-Defence Under International Law’ [2011] 44 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 285, 294

[20] Robert Crowcroft, ‘Rising to the Challenge? The State Since 9/11’ in Rachel Utley (ed), 9/11 Ten Years After: Perspectives and Problems (1 st edn Routledge 2016) 192

[21] Christine Gray, International Law and the Use of Force (4 th edn OUP 2018) 207

[22] Jackson Maogoto, ‘Rushing to Break the Law? The ‘Bush’ Doctrine of Pre-Emptive Strikes and the UN Charter on the Use of Force’ [2003] 7 UWSLawRw 1, 1

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Summary Of A Scrap Of Paper: Breaking And Making International Law

Hull posits at the end of her book, A Scrap of Paper: Breaking and Making International Law During the Great War, that Germany did not “speak the same legal language” as Great Britain and France. In order to understand Germany’s legal language, Hull attempts to re-center international law as a fundamental element in the structuring of the belligerents’ legal principles that later influenced internalized mores and external conduct. Hull, a historian of modern Germany, pays special attention to the sociopolitical sources of tension between ‘traditional’ international law and the evolving military needs. Indeed, she argues that “the arguments and justifications used to explain or defend policy are potentially as important as the acts themselves.” …show more content…

She contends that the legal and therefore social connotations of the invasion of Belgium reveal the stakes for each involved party. Hull’s comparative approach shines in her analysis of contemporary leaderships’ interpretation of the legality of Belgium’s neutrality. Belgium’s neutrality, she argues, stood for “security, self-interest, the principle of law, and public reputation (honoring obligation).” These factors fit into the Allies’ desire for the continuity of a united European standard of diplomacy and war. Hull brings attention to two competing understandings of international law, pacta sunt servanda and rebus sic stantibus, which demonstrate the polarity of Great Britain/France and Imperial Germany’s approach to warfare. Hull describes Belgium’s neutrality and international law, not only as a violation but an “international crime,” with the potential to dictate “postwar international law.” Germany’s denial of the perceived European model of warfare clarifies its outlier status and the danger it posed to the sense of a cohesive ‘civilized’ Europe. Hull deftly shows how this linkage between the notion of continued civilization, which was synonymous with Europe, was similarly challenged by Germany’s incredible violence in …show more content…

The structural organization of decision-making reflected national priorities. While Hull is not always explicitly clear on the directional flow between state structure, political motivators, and policy-makers’ decisions, she does clearly establish that Imperial Germany’s deferral to the military influenced its evaluation of international law. General Hartmann’s assessment that modern international law was “theoretically constructed,” and incongruent with the actualities of war differed sharply from Attorney General Frederick Smith’s outlook that “laws of war and customs […] were known […] long before the system of modern international law. All these were conceived as deriving their authority from natural reason evidenced by the common consent of mankind.” In examining contemporary personnel’s understanding of the law, Hull skillfully stresses national conceptions of legal supremacy, between the actualities of war or the notion of an ephemeral governing civilized

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I will be traveling to Krasnodar sometime during the spring of 2010 but I have a couple of questions. I will be traveling from the US and want to know if I will have to travel via Moscow or if there is a more direct route either from Ukraine, Europe, or even Turkey. I'm assuming that Krasnodar does not have an international airport.

It does not have an international airport. You will have to make a transfer in Moscow.

I was afraid of that, but thank you for the information. It will be a long trip.

By the way - there 3 international airports in Krasnodar Krai. Krasnodar (Pashkovsky), Sochi (Adler) and Anapa.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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