International Law and International Organizations Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering United Nations Charter articles, international law principles, NATO structures, and statehood criteria derived from lecture review notes.

Opinun Uris

The principle where states act in a certain way out of a sense of legal obligation (opinion for law).

Decisions of the ICJ

The rulings that each UN member agrees to comply with and abide by.

1945

The year the UN charter was signed.

Public Opinion and Media

The two mechanisms utilized by NGOs to persuade states.

North Atlantic Council

The most important entity within NATO.

Reservation

A mechanism that allows a state to participate in a treaty without consenting to all of its parts.

Entry into Force

The final stage in the process of treaty making.

Article 1 of UN Charter

Defines the United Nations as an international organization aimed at international cooperation and respect for human rights.

Jus puniendi

The right to punish exercised by criminal courts and tribunals.

Permanent Court of International Justice

An international court located in The Hague.

Article 9 (UN Charter)

Dictates that the General Assembly shall consist of all members of the UN.

Jus Coguns

Super norms of international law that treaties cannot change.

Article 2-4 (UN Charter)

Specifies that all members shall refrain from threatening or violating the territorial integrity of any state.

Qualifications of Statehood

The essential requirements to be a state: a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to form relations.

Article 96 (UN Charter)

Authorizes requests for advisory opinions.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The principal judicial body that states immediately join upon becoming members of the UN.

Uti Possidetis Juris

A Latin legal term meaning 'as you possess.'

International Campaign to Ban Landmines

An NGO and coordinating group awarded a Nobel Peace Prize (noted in text as 1977).

Ambassadors

The title given to representatives when the North Atlantic Council meets on a permanent level.

Article 51 (UN Charter)

Protects the inherent right of individual and collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a UN member.

Persistent Objector

A legal doctrine applied to a state that consistently and continuously objects to a rule of customary law.

Accession

The process by which a state becomes a party to a treaty that other parties have already established.

Secretary General (NATO)

The Chief International official and head of NATO.

Norm Entrepreneurs

The term used by Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink to describe non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Chapter 6.5 Peacekeeping Forces

Forces that are not explicitly authorized under the text of the UN Charter, but remain active today.

States (in ICJ Proceedings)

The only entities eligible to be parties in cases before the International Court of Justice.

Negotiations

The treaty-making stage that concludes with the formal adoption of the text of the treaty.

Chapter 6 (UN Charter)

The chapter addressing the pacific settlement of disputes.

Mount Tibiadio 1983

The conference noted for establishing the qualifications and characteristics of statehood.

State Party

A term for a state that has officially ratified a treaty.

ICY in Germany

The court established following the tragedies in Yugoslavia.

NGOs

Organizations whose common characteristic is using international law to influence states regarding people, species, and resources.

Pact sunt servanda

The fundamental legal principle that treaties must be obeyed.

Article 32

A provision stating that an interpreter may use supplementary resource materials to arrive at conclusions.

Sources of Law Applied by the ICJ

The items applied to resolve disputes: Treaties, Customary International Law, General principles of International Law, and Precedent and opinions of qualified judges.

Article 41 (UN Charter)

Measures not involving the use of armed force that the Security Council can invoke to ensure its pronouncements are carried out.

Treaties of Westphalia

A series of treaties that set up the modern international legal system.

Brussels

The city serving as the headquarters for both the European Union (EU) and NATO.

Article 92 (UN Charter)

Establishes that the principal international judicial organ of the UN is the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Advisory Opinions

A non-binding type of ruling or opinion issued by judicial bodies like the ICJ.

Collective Security

A security arrangement that involves the coordinated use of armed force.

Repertoire

An official record or documentation resource linked to the Security Council.

North Atlantic Council

NATO's principal political decision-making body, consisting of representatives of all member states. It makes decisions by consensus rather than majority voting.

UN Charter Article 103

Provides that Charter obligations prevail when they conflict with obligations under another international agreement.

UN Charter Article 2(7)

Generally prohibits the UN from intervening in matters essentially within a state's domestic jurisdiction, while preserving the Security Council's Chapter VII enforcement powers.

UN Charter Article 2(4)

Prohibits UN members from threatening or using force against another state's territorial integrity or political independence, or otherwise acting inconsistently with UN purposes.

ICJ Statute, Article 38

Lists the principal sources the Court applies: international conventions (treaties), international custom, general principles of law, and, as subsidiary means, judicial decisions and scholarly writings.

Thematic courts

International or specialized courts and tribunals that focus on particular subjects, such as international criminal law, human rights, or the law of the sea.

Montevideo Convention (1933)

A treaty that identifies four traditional criteria of statehood: a permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states.