Public International Law
Inhoudsopgave
Public International Law................................................................................................................................ 1
Weblectures.................................................................................................................................................. 2
Non-State actors in International Law: globalization and Multinational corporations I.....................................2
Non-state Actors in international law: globalization and Multinational Corporations II....................................2
Climate change and the law of treaties I.............................................................................................................4
Climate change and the law of treaties II............................................................................................................5
Climate change and the law of treaties III...........................................................................................................7
International organizations I................................................................................................................................7
The law of State Responsibility I...........................................................................................................................9
The law of state responsibility II.........................................................................................................................10
The law of state responsibility III........................................................................................................................10
Dispute settlement – lecture..............................................................................................................................12
Human rights I....................................................................................................................................................16
Human rights & climate change II......................................................................................................................20
International economic law I..............................................................................................................................21
International economic law II.............................................................................................................................23
Law of immunities I............................................................................................................................................25
Law of immunities II...........................................................................................................................................27
E – learning Public International Law............................................................................................................ 28
E-Module 1 Revision: Introduction to International Law...................................................................................28
1.1 Actors...........................................................................................................................................................28
1.2 Sources.........................................................................................................................................................29
1.3 Human rights................................................................................................................................................30
1.4 Adjudication in International law.................................................................................................................30
1.5 Use of force..................................................................................................................................................31
Tentamen.................................................................................................................................................... 32
Law of Treaties...................................................................................................................................................32
State responsibility.............................................................................................................................................40
Use of Force........................................................................................................................................................43
Human rights......................................................................................................................................................46
International criminal law..................................................................................................................................49
Law of immunities..............................................................................................................................................53
,Weblectures
Non-State actors in International Law: globalization and Multinational
corporations I
Globalization entails four distinct types of changes:
1. Stretching of social, political, and economic activities across political frontiers,
regions, and continents
2. Intensifying our dependence on each other, as flows of trade, investment, finance,
migration and culture increase
3. New systems of transport and communication mean that ideas, goods, information,
capital and people move more quickly
4. Distant events have deeper impact on our lives. Even the most local developments
may come to have enormous global consequences
It gives benefits and challenges
Globalization poses conceptual challenges to the discipline of international law
For example, it has a dynamic impact on the further development of the role of non-state
actors in shaping politics and law
(Vb. Production of an Iphone: how do we make sure that we can held the Multinational
companies held responsible for their conduct?)
Non-state actors in International Law
- The main subjects of international law are States
- However, Non-state actors also play important roles and enjoy direct rights and
obligations under int. law (Vb. International organizations, individuals, non-
governmental organizations, Multinational corporations) (but they have very
different features)
*There are no formal criteria in international law to determine the status ‘subject of
international law’.
Non-state Actors in international law: globalization and Multinational
Corporations II
Multinational corporations (MNC’s): beneficiaries and agents of globalization
= they usually comprise companies or other entities established in more than one country
and so linked that they may coordinate their operations in various ways. While one or more
of these entities may be able to exercise a significant influence over the activities of others,
their degree of autonomy within the enterprise may vary widely from one multinational
enterprise to another
Different types of company segments: headquarters, franchisees, licensee, subsidiaries
embedded in local clusters
MNC’s in (international) law
- Limited liability of parent company – ‘the corporate veil’ – the corporate parent is
generally not liable for risks incurred and damages caused by a subsidiary
, - International Law does not generally regard the MNC as having a unity. Rather,
international law sees the MNC as a series of distinct persons, corporate nationals of
their respective places of incorporation and lacking in collective agency.
“69 of the richest entities on the planet are corporations, not governments, figures show’
(Vb. Walmart (10), State Grid (13), Sinopec Group (15, China National Petrol (16), Royal
Dutch Shell (18), Toyota Motor (21), Volkswagen (22), Apple (29)”
Corporations as bearers of rights
- International Investment Agreements – concluded between states to protect and
attract foreign investments. Corporations are typically given the right under
International Investment Agreements to take host states to international arbitration
in case of a dispute
- European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) – the European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) has granted corporations protection under a number of rights under
the ECHR (vb. The right to a fair hearing and the right to freedom of expression)
Potential remedies against MNCs abuses (oplossingen tegen misbruik door multinationals)
- Domestic judges of either host or home state
- Human rights judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms
- State-to-State dispute settlement
- Mediatic reputational campaigns
Filling the ‘Governance Gap’ with soft law?
Guiding principles on Business and Human Rights – ‘Ruggie Framework’:
Three Pillars:
1. The state duty to respect, protect and fulfil human rights
2. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights
3. The need for effective remedy for victims of human right abuses
operationalized by a number of ‘guiding principles’
The principles include:
In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse
human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights due
diligence zorgvuldige analyse op economisch, juridisch, fiscal en financieel gebied
Business enterprises should identify and assess any actual or potential negative
adverse human rights impacts with which they may be involved either through their
own activities or as a result of their business relationships
OECD Guidelines for multinational Enterprises:
- Recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises
operating in or from the aangesloten countries. For example,
o Enterprises should contribute to economic, environmental and social progress
with a view to achieving sustainable development
o Enterprises should respect the internationally recognized human rights of
those affected by their activities
- Complaint mechanism – National Contact Points (NCP’s)
, Something new on the horizon:
Business and Human Rights Treaty
- Intergovernmental working group was established within the United Nations
framework with the task of drafting a binding treaty on human rights and business
- Mandate: creating an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in
international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and
other business enterprises
Conclude:
- Globalization requires us to rethink the traditional conceptions of international law
as, for example, non-state actors are fulfilling increasingly important functions
- MNC’s operate internationally and assert economic, political and social influence
globally without being properly captured by international law
- However, attempts to regulate MNCs remain state-centred door de staten gereguleerd
worden
Climate change and the law of treaties I
What is the ‘law of treaties?
- Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969
- Customary international law
meta rules on the (form of) treaties, not their substance
VCLT NO rules on the consequences of breaching a treaty provision: regime of state
responsibility
Understanding the vexed question of the definition of a treaty
Art. 2(1) VCLT: a ‘treaty’ means an international agreement concluded:
o Between states
o In written form
o Governed by International Law
o Whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related
instruments and whatever its particular designation
- Pacta sund servanda art. 26 VCLT: balance between consent and stability
Gabcikovo- Nagymaros
- No particular designation needed: exchange of notes, joint communiqués etc.
- What are the criteria to identify a treaty if no particular form is required?
o Qatar v. Bahrain: objective test + circumstances of conclusion
o Bangladesh/Myanmar: objective test + circumstances of conclusion +
intention of the parties to be bound
Paris agreement?
The paris agreement is an international treaty, as such legally binding. Yet, many of its
provisions do not create legal obligations
‘Objective assessment’ + intention of the parties: multiple clauses related to (Vb. Entry
into force, consent to be bound, reservations, withdrawal etc)
Conclusion of treaties
Inhoudsopgave
Public International Law................................................................................................................................ 1
Weblectures.................................................................................................................................................. 2
Non-State actors in International Law: globalization and Multinational corporations I.....................................2
Non-state Actors in international law: globalization and Multinational Corporations II....................................2
Climate change and the law of treaties I.............................................................................................................4
Climate change and the law of treaties II............................................................................................................5
Climate change and the law of treaties III...........................................................................................................7
International organizations I................................................................................................................................7
The law of State Responsibility I...........................................................................................................................9
The law of state responsibility II.........................................................................................................................10
The law of state responsibility III........................................................................................................................10
Dispute settlement – lecture..............................................................................................................................12
Human rights I....................................................................................................................................................16
Human rights & climate change II......................................................................................................................20
International economic law I..............................................................................................................................21
International economic law II.............................................................................................................................23
Law of immunities I............................................................................................................................................25
Law of immunities II...........................................................................................................................................27
E – learning Public International Law............................................................................................................ 28
E-Module 1 Revision: Introduction to International Law...................................................................................28
1.1 Actors...........................................................................................................................................................28
1.2 Sources.........................................................................................................................................................29
1.3 Human rights................................................................................................................................................30
1.4 Adjudication in International law.................................................................................................................30
1.5 Use of force..................................................................................................................................................31
Tentamen.................................................................................................................................................... 32
Law of Treaties...................................................................................................................................................32
State responsibility.............................................................................................................................................40
Use of Force........................................................................................................................................................43
Human rights......................................................................................................................................................46
International criminal law..................................................................................................................................49
Law of immunities..............................................................................................................................................53
,Weblectures
Non-State actors in International Law: globalization and Multinational
corporations I
Globalization entails four distinct types of changes:
1. Stretching of social, political, and economic activities across political frontiers,
regions, and continents
2. Intensifying our dependence on each other, as flows of trade, investment, finance,
migration and culture increase
3. New systems of transport and communication mean that ideas, goods, information,
capital and people move more quickly
4. Distant events have deeper impact on our lives. Even the most local developments
may come to have enormous global consequences
It gives benefits and challenges
Globalization poses conceptual challenges to the discipline of international law
For example, it has a dynamic impact on the further development of the role of non-state
actors in shaping politics and law
(Vb. Production of an Iphone: how do we make sure that we can held the Multinational
companies held responsible for their conduct?)
Non-state actors in International Law
- The main subjects of international law are States
- However, Non-state actors also play important roles and enjoy direct rights and
obligations under int. law (Vb. International organizations, individuals, non-
governmental organizations, Multinational corporations) (but they have very
different features)
*There are no formal criteria in international law to determine the status ‘subject of
international law’.
Non-state Actors in international law: globalization and Multinational
Corporations II
Multinational corporations (MNC’s): beneficiaries and agents of globalization
= they usually comprise companies or other entities established in more than one country
and so linked that they may coordinate their operations in various ways. While one or more
of these entities may be able to exercise a significant influence over the activities of others,
their degree of autonomy within the enterprise may vary widely from one multinational
enterprise to another
Different types of company segments: headquarters, franchisees, licensee, subsidiaries
embedded in local clusters
MNC’s in (international) law
- Limited liability of parent company – ‘the corporate veil’ – the corporate parent is
generally not liable for risks incurred and damages caused by a subsidiary
, - International Law does not generally regard the MNC as having a unity. Rather,
international law sees the MNC as a series of distinct persons, corporate nationals of
their respective places of incorporation and lacking in collective agency.
“69 of the richest entities on the planet are corporations, not governments, figures show’
(Vb. Walmart (10), State Grid (13), Sinopec Group (15, China National Petrol (16), Royal
Dutch Shell (18), Toyota Motor (21), Volkswagen (22), Apple (29)”
Corporations as bearers of rights
- International Investment Agreements – concluded between states to protect and
attract foreign investments. Corporations are typically given the right under
International Investment Agreements to take host states to international arbitration
in case of a dispute
- European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) – the European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) has granted corporations protection under a number of rights under
the ECHR (vb. The right to a fair hearing and the right to freedom of expression)
Potential remedies against MNCs abuses (oplossingen tegen misbruik door multinationals)
- Domestic judges of either host or home state
- Human rights judicial and quasi-judicial mechanisms
- State-to-State dispute settlement
- Mediatic reputational campaigns
Filling the ‘Governance Gap’ with soft law?
Guiding principles on Business and Human Rights – ‘Ruggie Framework’:
Three Pillars:
1. The state duty to respect, protect and fulfil human rights
2. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights
3. The need for effective remedy for victims of human right abuses
operationalized by a number of ‘guiding principles’
The principles include:
In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their adverse
human rights impacts, business enterprises should carry out human rights due
diligence zorgvuldige analyse op economisch, juridisch, fiscal en financieel gebied
Business enterprises should identify and assess any actual or potential negative
adverse human rights impacts with which they may be involved either through their
own activities or as a result of their business relationships
OECD Guidelines for multinational Enterprises:
- Recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises
operating in or from the aangesloten countries. For example,
o Enterprises should contribute to economic, environmental and social progress
with a view to achieving sustainable development
o Enterprises should respect the internationally recognized human rights of
those affected by their activities
- Complaint mechanism – National Contact Points (NCP’s)
, Something new on the horizon:
Business and Human Rights Treaty
- Intergovernmental working group was established within the United Nations
framework with the task of drafting a binding treaty on human rights and business
- Mandate: creating an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in
international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and
other business enterprises
Conclude:
- Globalization requires us to rethink the traditional conceptions of international law
as, for example, non-state actors are fulfilling increasingly important functions
- MNC’s operate internationally and assert economic, political and social influence
globally without being properly captured by international law
- However, attempts to regulate MNCs remain state-centred door de staten gereguleerd
worden
Climate change and the law of treaties I
What is the ‘law of treaties?
- Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969
- Customary international law
meta rules on the (form of) treaties, not their substance
VCLT NO rules on the consequences of breaching a treaty provision: regime of state
responsibility
Understanding the vexed question of the definition of a treaty
Art. 2(1) VCLT: a ‘treaty’ means an international agreement concluded:
o Between states
o In written form
o Governed by International Law
o Whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related
instruments and whatever its particular designation
- Pacta sund servanda art. 26 VCLT: balance between consent and stability
Gabcikovo- Nagymaros
- No particular designation needed: exchange of notes, joint communiqués etc.
- What are the criteria to identify a treaty if no particular form is required?
o Qatar v. Bahrain: objective test + circumstances of conclusion
o Bangladesh/Myanmar: objective test + circumstances of conclusion +
intention of the parties to be bound
Paris agreement?
The paris agreement is an international treaty, as such legally binding. Yet, many of its
provisions do not create legal obligations
‘Objective assessment’ + intention of the parties: multiple clauses related to (Vb. Entry
into force, consent to be bound, reservations, withdrawal etc)
Conclusion of treaties
