International Law Flashcards

Flashcards on International Law

International Criminal Law

Branch of public international law dealing with the direct criminal responsibility of individuals

Genocide

Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Accepted systematic rape & sexual violence as an act of genocide- Akayesu case (1995)

Crimes Against Humanity

Any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population

War Crimes

Any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provision of the relevant Geneva Convention

The Crime of Aggression

The planning, preparation, initiation or execution of an act of aggression by a person in a position to control the political or military action of a state

The International Criminal Court

Jurisdiction: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes & aggression

International Humanitarian Law

The int’l law of armed conflict that seeks to limit human suffering in conflict.

The Scope of Humanitarian Law

Applies to all ‘armed conflicts’

Objects of Humanitarian law

Distinguishes between combatants and civilians

The Conduct of Hostilities

Methods and means of warfare

The Use of Weapons

Avoid unnecessary suffering and Avoid indiscriminate weaponry

Categories of Human Rights

Civil & political rights: ‘First generation rights’

Categories of Human Rights

Economic & social rights: ‘Second generation rights’

Categories of Human Rights

Collective rights: ‘Third generation rights’

International Human Rights Law (IHRL)

A unique area of int’l law involving intra-state matters

1993 Vienna Declaration

Human rights are indivisible, interdependent & interrelated

The Sources of International Human Rights Law

Treaties, Soft law, Customary law, Jus cogens norms

Core Human Rights Treaties

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951)

UN Institutions in IHRL

UNGA, UNSC

Regional Human Rights Bodies

Europe: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

Regional Human Rights Bodies

The Americas: American Convention on Human Rights

Regional Human Rights Bodies

Africa: African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Regional Human Rights Bodies

The Middle East: Arab Charter on Human Rights