Week 1 - History of International Law

NIEO Proposal Year

1974

NIEO Means

New International Economic Order

Francisco de Vitoria

Lecturer who validated European colonial conquest

ICJ Namibia Years

1966 and 1971

Bretton Woods

International economic system that allowed for the continued domination of the Global South

Berlin Conference Years

1884-85

Anghie first name

Anthony

How did sovereignty permit domination?

Those without sovereignty deemed uncivilised

TWAIL

Third World Approaches to International law

DGICCP

Declaration for the Granting of Independence for Colonial Countries and Peoples

Legal positivism

The belief that all law must be followed, irrespective of moral standing

Terra nullius

Nobody’s land

Mandate System

Colonialism reframed as trusteeship under the League of Nations

Why did the NIEO fail?

Lack of political support from wealthy nations & economic downturn that led to further loan conditionality

Loan conditionality

Method of post-colonialism. Financial assistance only assured through conditions.

What conditions were there for the Global South to receive loans?

No investment in public spending (austerity), market liberalization, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and compliance with international fiscal policies.

Maintenance of the Franc

Method used by France to keep former colonies reliant

Human rights as an excuse

Used to justify intervention, even if for political purposes

International institutions that perpetuate neo-colonialism

IMF, WTO, World Bank

Good governance

Justification for intervention

Preemptive force

Justification for intervention after 9/11

Democratising

Justification for intervention

Berlin Conference purpose

Partition of Africa

Why did the 1966 ICJ case fail?

Liberia and Ethiopia deemed to have no locus standi, said there were no mechanisms from which to address LoN Mandate System

Locus standi

Legal standing

Chagos Islands Case Years

1965, 2017

What can we learn from the Chagos Islands case?

That there requires international political will as well as legal standing

What binds states to International Law?

Consent

What is the point of International Law?

Human rights, or politics

Which courts have compulsory jurisdiction?

None

Iraq treaties for boundaries and diplomatic immunity

2500BC

Middle-Eastern boundary treaties

1300BC

Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Border

783, China and Tibet

Respublica Christiana

Group of Christian nations/peoples, a mini international community

Canon Law

Church Law - international law was dependent on the opinion of the Church

What distinguishes Canon Law from modern International Law?

1. Religious grounding

2. Authority

What aligns Canon and modern International Law?

Consent

What made Canon law end?

Martin Luther

Peace of Wesphalia

End to Thirty Years War, defined sovereignty

Popular sovereignty/self-determination

French Revolution

1815 Vienna Conference

Boundaries after Napoleonic Wars, established Law of the Sea freedom of movement (relevant for Paquette Habana)

Union for Publication of Custom Tariffs

1890

League of Nations States

44 signed at first, 58 at peak

Purpose of League of Nations

Mutual guarantees of political independence and territory

What did League of nations do for human rights?

Commissions for refugees, health, labour, slavery, minorities, and suggested permanent courts

Why did the League of Nations fail?

States withdrawing

UN Charter

1945

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1948

International Institutions

WHO, World Bank, WTO, IMF, UNICEF, CEDAW Etc.

Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples

1960