International Law

Opinio Juris

The belief that a certain practice is obligatory under international law.

Pacta Sunt Servanta

International agreements are binding and must be observed

Non Liquet

Customary laws or treaties can’t solve a problem

Bona Fide

act in a good faith

Jus Cogens

peremptory norms of international law that cannot be violated.

Terra Nollious

land that is not owned or claimed by any state. land that is legally deemed to be unoccupied or uninhabited.

International Law

a set of agreements and custom follow most of the time. Just for countries.

International system

interaction between states.

In international law system…

1. all states equal

2. Limited enforcement

3. Obligations are taken voluntarily

Sources of IL

Treaties (international conventions), international customs, General principles of law, and judicial decisions and teachings

ICJ statues Art 38

The primary sources of international law as recognized by the International Court of Justice, including treaties, customary international law, general principles of law, and legal scholarship. All UN states are part of it.

treaties

formal agreements between states that are legally binding under international law.

International customs

practices and norms that are accepted as legal requirements by states in their interactions, contributing to the formation of international law.

How international customs get to form?

General practice and acceptance as law by states (opinio juris).

General principles of law

recognized legal principles common to major legal systems, serving as a source of international law. (good faith, no slavery, etc)

Judicial decisions and teachings

subsidiary means for determining a rule of law: Supplementary and tecahings of teh past

Primary sources

treaties, customs, general principle of law (law craeting)

Secondary source

Judicial decisions and teachings (non binding, law determining no law creating)

Formal sources are always…

Binding

unformal sources

Judicial decision and teachings

Customary helps to…

govern parts not governed by a treaty

General principles…

overlap with treaty law and customary law

Sources of International law are

not hierarchical, and all primary sources have same importance and power

International Law holds

Rights and obligations of states

Elements of customary law

1. State practice

2. Opinio Juris

State practice of customary laws should be

1. extensive

2. uniform

State practice of customary law

How contries behavein relation to established norms and practices.

Opinio juris is not

1. no habit

2. no courtasy

Customary law should

1. Reach level of “Jus Cogens”

2. Reach level of codification

Codification

customary turn into law (law of wars, ahge convention)

Elements of Customary Law

1. duration

2. consistency and repetition

3. Absents is a factor

4. General of the practice

persistent objector

A state that consistently and openly rejects a customary international law, arguing that it should not be legally binding on them.

other factors of customary law

1. persisten objector

2. Subsequent objector

3. Bilateral relations history

4. The burden of proof in disputes.

5. regional and local customs

The burden of proof

claimant prove that a custom exist

Non Liquet

A situation in international law where no applicable rule (customary or treaty) exists to resolve a dispute.

Pacta Sunt servanta is a (part of..)

general principle law

What could be considered General Principle of Law?

national principles transported to international arena such as fairness, justice, and equity that guide legal reasoning and decisions in international contexts.

Treaty ______________ of IL

as main vehicle

Treaties can be embodied in

single, 2 or more instruments

Single instruments

one formal document

Multiple instruments

two or more formal documents that collectively form a treaty. (exhange of notes, protocols ammedments, ect)

Treaties can be used

political and bussiness

Founding principle of treaties

Pacta sunt servanta

Core principles of Vienna convention on the law of treaties, 1969

A set of rules governing treaties between states, including aspects such as consent, validity, and obligations.

Mechanism of adoprtion of treaties

adoption, entry into force, scope, and termination

Reservations of treaties

What a state does not want to comply (in a treaty), and can not go against a purpose of the treaty

Declarations of states (upon treaties)

Explains how an article will be applied by the state

Unilateral declarations

Statements made by a state indicating its intention to be bound by certain obligations under international law, often without requiring the consent of other states.

Other states can give objections to other states’…

reservations and declarations

Classifications of treaties

Bilateral, multilateral, law-making treaties, contract type treaties

Bilateral treaties

Agreements between two states that create mutual obligations and rights.

Multilateral treaties

Agreements involving three or more states that establish rights and obligations among the parties.

Law-making type of treaties

1. Create general international obligations

2. Obligatory for all parties are the same

3. Non signatories could apply such treaties

Contract type treaties

1. Establish specific obligations between states that are enforceable under international law.

2. Limited to signatory states (no general impact)

Charter

a treaty of foundation nature with strong legal weight

Convention

International multilateral treaty of significant importance

Agreement

A treaty dealing with specific issues

Pact

one or more parties make a formal agreement, often binding in international law.

Statue

A written law enacted by a legislative body, often codifying legal principles.

Convenant

a multilateral legal instrument

Different tribunals

that adjudicate disputes under international law, including courts and arbitration panels. National court, Regional C, Inter. Cort of justice and predecesors.

How judicial decisions work?

1. A case is brought to judicial body

2. The court reviews the case

3. Arguments and evidence are presented

4. The court makes a final decisions (binding or advisory)

Subjects of International law:

States, international organizations, individuals, and non-state actors.

Subjects of International law have…

Legal personality

Requirements of Legal personality

1. International rights and duties (international legal personality)

2. capacity to bringclaims before international courts or tribunals.

States are

original & primary subjects of IL

Federal states

only government signs international treaties, and states (regions of the federal states) don’t have international personality

Association of states

a group of sovereign states that collaborate on common interests and goals, often through treaties or agreements. For example: EU (ever closer union) Lisbon treaty 2007

Territorial entities

Condominium (two or several states sharing sovereignty power over a territory)

Protectorates

a territory that is partially controlled and protected by a stronger state, which manages its foreign affairs while allowing local governance. (Statehood and IR goes not another country)

Protected

IR is delegated to another states, but statehood (sovereignty conserved

International legal personality is compose by:

1. International rights and duties

capacity to bring international claims means:

Person/ entity can:

1. establish claims

2. Preserve claims

3. Settelemnt of claim

Customary methods of capacity to bring international claims:

protest, request for an inquiry, negotiation, arbitration & litigation

Other types of states less common:

1. territories under international administration

2. Vatican City

3. sovereignty order of Malta

Types of extinction of states:

1. Merger

2. Annexation

3. Dismemberment

4. Former socialist countries

Merger of states

the process by which two or more states combine to form a single new state, often resulting in the loss of the individual states' sovereignty. Example: the unification of East and West Germany in 1990.

Annexation of states

the formal incorporation of one state into another, often involving the acquisition of territory and the imposition of the annexing state's laws and governance.Annexation of Hawaii, 1898.

Dismemberment of a state

the breaking apart of a state into smaller entities, often leading to the loss of its territorial integrity and political unity. example: the fragmentation of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Former socialist states

countries that transitioned from a socialist system to a different political and economic structure, often involving significant reforms and changes in governance and territory.

Requisites of statehood

1. A permanent population

2. A defined territory

3. Government

4. Capacity to enter into relations with other states.

A permanent population (for statehood)

No state without population, but no minimun required

A defined territory conditions (for statehood)

1. all shapes and sizes

2. territory should not belong to another sovereign state

3. There can be boarder disputes, but should have control over a CORE territory

Government

1. capable of exercise effective control over the territory and population

2. Central element of statehood

3. No required type of political regime

Occupation of government (no government recognized) does not affect…

statehood

State is not the same as

government

Change of government is not the same as…

change of statehood

Capacity to enter IR with another states

is a fundamental attribute of statehood. , but also a consequence of statehood. No scope of requirement.

Definition of: Formal criteria of statehood

Factual, objective and measurable. It is a fact established and interpreted through law

Which are Formal criteria of statehood?

1. A permanent population

2. A defined territory

Substantial criteria of statehood

Functioning of the state rather than it existance ( A state works)

Which are the substantial criteria of a statehood?

1. Government

2. Capacity to enter IR with other states

Fundamental Rights of statehood

1. Judicial equal

2. territory integrity

3. Respect personality of other states

4. duty to comply fully and in good faith with international obligations

5. Right to choose system

6. Independence

7. Peaceful existence

8. Non intervention in internal affairs

State Recognition

The formal acknowledgment by one state of another's sovereignty and statehood status, which can influence diplomatic relations and international law.

Theories of state recognition

1. Constitutive

2. Declaratory

Constitutive theory

A state actually becomes a state when is recognized by other states (notion of consent). And together with other statehood criteria (ofc)

Notion of consent

The principle that a state's recognition by others is essential for its existence and legitimacy in the international system.

Declaratory theory

When a state fulfils all criteria of statehood, then it is already s state (no need of external recognition)

Types of recognition of a state

1. De jure recognition

2. De Facto recognition

3. Expressed recognition

4. Implied recognition

5. Conditional recognition

De Jure recognition

happens when a state recognizes that the (new) governemnt is legitimate (legality of government)