Summary All lecture AND workshop notes of Public International Law, Year 19/20

Week 1 PIL Lecture

PIL Definition.

 PIL consists of rules and principles that regulates the relations between states and
other entities, provided they have international legal personality

1. Between States
2. Between States and other entities possessing international legal personality
3. Covering a range of activities
- i.e. international agreements, diplomatic relations, trade, protection of human
rights and conduct of armed conflict

PIL History

1648 – Peace of Westphalia1

- Series of peace treaties marking the end of the religious Thirty Years War
- The birth of the modern State – territorial units as equal sovereigns

17th century – Hugo Grotius  naturalist

 Father of international law
 Author of international law’s most important texts

- The law of armed conflict and aggression
- Binding force of treaties
- Freedom of seas

Two theories on international law

Natural law

- Law is not made, but found
- Universal values existing by nature and can be found through human reasoning

Positive law

- Law is not given, but man-made
- Law is made by sovereign (States) and can be found in treaties and customary
law

 Peace of Westphalia marks the beginning of modern international law
 Creation of modern sovereign States
 Use of treaties to regulate interaction between States
 Emergence of international organizations
- i.e. Universal Postal Union (1874), International Committee of Red Cross
(1863), Permanent Court of Arbitration (1899)
 Main focus on Europe  Colonization outside Europe
1
In exam

,  Outbreak of WWI
After WWII

 Establishment of the League of Nations, based in Geneva
 To secure international peace
 Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague
 However: WWII

 The UN established with its main objective being protecting and restoring
international peace and security


PIL – UN

Six organs of the UN  Art. 7 UN Charter

1. General Assembly
2. Security Council
3. Economic and Social Council
4. Trusteeship Council
5. International Court of Justice
6. Secretariat

1. General Assembly  Chapter 4 UN Charter

 All UN MS have a seat in the GA  The representative body of the UN
 Can only adopt non-binding measures  On a wide range of issues, i.e. political,
economic, humanitarian, social or legal matters.

2. Security Council  Chapter 5 UN Charter

 15 Members
- 5 Permanent members with a VETO  China, France, UK, USA and Russia
- 10 non-permanent members elected for a two-year period

 The only UN body with the power to adopt binding resolution
- Chapter 7 resolution
- In cases where there is a threat or breach of international peace and security, or
an act of aggression  Article 39 UN Charter

5. International Court of Justice  Chapter 16 UN Charter

 Consent-based jurisdiction to settle disputes between states
- ONLY States
- Binding decision  Which were involved into the case.

 Advisory jurisdiction to advice UN organs on a legal question
- ONLY UN Organs
- Binding decision?  Not binding because it is an opinion.

,PIL - UN

 Cold War
- The world divided into two blocks
- No armed violence, yet a failure of collective security
- Security Council paralyzed, unable to adopt a resolution and to act effectively

 Decolonization
- UN Special Committee on Decolonization
- Allowing a process of self-determination of peoples
- Largely completed, still few territories waiting to be decolonized


International law today

 Growing interdependence of States, international organizations and multinationals
 Emerging fields of international law
- i.e. international criminal law, human rights, climate change law
 Growing number of international organizations
- CoE, EU, AU, OAS, NATO
- But also, judicial bodies, i.e. ICC, ACtHR, ECtHR, ITLOS, ICTY, STL

, Workshop 1

Question: What is international legal personality

Structure of international law


International law of coexistence

- Contains the answers required to separate the powers of sovereign states and uphold
peaceful coexistence
- Interaction between states
- Ensure that states can pursue their different and separate interests and still respect the
sovereignty of other states
- Delamination of territory; criteria of statehood, recognition of new states, use of force


International law of cooperation
- Contains the legal answers to issues that are not inherently of interest to two or more states
but are matters of international concerns
- Treaties
- IHL, IEL, EU Law.

Monism and dualism2

Nicaragua Judgement
- Concerning military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua
- Breaches mentioned in para 15




Lecture 2

Theory of Sources
2
Exam question