ORGANISATION EXAM
QUESTIONS AND REVIEWED
CORRECT ANSWERS
What are the five sources of international law, from
most to least authoritative?
Treaties
Customary law
General principles of law
Judicial decisions
Teaching of the most highly qualified publicists
Who introduced the concept of equality of states?
Vattel, a Swiss lawyer
When did the concept of "just war" lose its authority?
After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648
In what year was the Peace of Westphalia concluded?
1648
What document concerns the rules governing treaties
between states?
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969)
What are three characteristics of the international
legal system?
Horizontal in nature
No supreme legislative, judicial or executive power
Lack of swift, comprehensive and universal system to
enforce rules
,Particular norms or principles of international law are
envisioned as _______ or ________.
universal or regional
What are two principles of John Austin's theory of
law?
Laws must be
1) Issued by a sovereign
2) Backed by a sanction in the case of a breach of law
What is the "law-habit"?
The general acceptance of the non-encroachment of
politics into law
Why is the law-habit hard to transfer to international
law?
Because states are responsible both for creating the law
and interpreting it
What is the basic utility of international law? Why is it
useful?
It gives states a common language and a common
vocabulary against the background of extreme diversity.
When was the Peace of Westphalia concluded?
1648
What are three principles that emerged out of the
Peace of Westphalia?
(1) legal equality between sovereign states\n(2) the
superiority of states and absence of a higher authority\n(3)
prohibition on interfering in the affairs of other states
Who was the author of the doctrine of non-
interference?
Vattel, a Swiss lawyer
What was the idea of "just war" and what happened to
it?
,It was based on the idea that force was permissible if
itcomplied with the divine will. After the Peaceof
Westphalia, the concept disappeared and no one state
could claim to beable to judge whether another's cause
was just or not.
International law governs relations between
independent states and thusits efficacy depends onto
the extent to which states feel ___________ before the
law.
a sense of obligation
What DOESN'T happen when a state withdraws
consent to a law?
the law is not invalidated; the state is merely placed in
breach of its obligations
__________ is the idea that all agreements are binding
Pacta sunt servanda
Particular norms or principles of international law are
envisioned as ______ or _______.
universal or regional
What is an example of a regional principle of
international law?
diplomatic asylum in Latin America
What must a party be able to do when invoking
regional custom?
the party relying on such acustom must prove that it is
binding on the other party
What are three characteristics of the international
legal system?
- horizontal nature\n- lack of a swift, comprehensive
enforcement mechanism\n- absence of a supreme
authority
, What are John Austin's two principles of law?
- it must emanate from a sovereign, and \n- be backed by
a sanction
Explain the difference between monism and dualism
with relation to international law.
Monists accept a unitary vision ofthe law, while dualists
stress thatinternational law and municipal law are separate
from one another.
Municipal law cannot be used as a method of
circumventing internationallaw, as established by
____________________.
Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties.
Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties establishes that ________________.
municipal law cannot be used as a method of
circumventing international law
What two ideas does the "law habit" represent?
- respect for the status of law; \n- non-interference of
politics in law
What makes the "law habit" problematic in
international law?
states themselves both write and enforce the laws
List four reasons that states tend to obey international
law.
- Reciprocity: violating a norm of international law could
bring long-termdisadvantages and discourage other states
from respecting the rights of theviolator \n\n\n- Rewards:
obeying international law can lead to positive benefits
such as alliances\n\n\n- flexibility: int'l law is amenable to
change \n\n\n- esteem: law is held in high esteem