Cursor Parking Lot:
Political Science 303: International Law and Organization
Fall Term 2023
Final Exam Review
Final Exam Date and Time: Tuesday December 12: 1:15-3:15 pm​
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IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: if this exam is online, please be sure to rephrase sentences. Let’s get ​
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our A and be done:)
The final exam will have three sections:
a) ​
b) ​
c) ​
Multiple choice: 15 multiple choice questions (15 points)
Identifications: 6 Identifications @ 8 points each (50 points)
Conceptual Essay: (35 points)
Identifications: an identification invites you to write one or two substantive paragraphs on a specific term
or concept. In these two paragraphs, you should (a) define and explain the term as fully and as clearly as
you are able; (b) explain its significance for either the operation or our understanding of international law
(or both). For this exam, you will be asked to write two paragraphs on each of SIX terms or concepts
drawn from a list of nine. Each identification is worth 8 points (6 X 8 = 48, so you start with 2 points in
the bag; but don’t let that go to your head). The identifications and the multiple choice questions will be
drawn from the list below:
1.​ Adaptive self-help (323)​
​
A. Definition and explanation: a form of redress outside the regular legal process, under which
one takes matters into one's own hands and uses lawful means in an attempt to protect or restore
legal rights.
Significance in int’l law: adaptive self help is a concept that better explains why states act in a
seemingly aggressive way. States may make decisions without the assistance or approval of a
higher court to ensure that they place themselves in the best position possible, as they feel an
attack is inevitable. ​
2.​ Anticipatory self-defense (357)​
​
A. Definition and explanation: deals with an attack that has not happened yet, but there is proof
that it is imminent. The aggressor State is in the final preparations for launching the attack.​
B. Significance in int’l law: To act in anticipatory self-defense to counter an imminent attack
would be in line with the purpose of maintaining peace declared in the Charter.​
3.​ Bandwagoning​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Bandwagoning in international relations occurs when a state aligns
with a stronger, adversarial power and concedes that the stronger adversary-turned-partner
disproportionately gains in the spoils they conquer together. Bandwagoning, therefore, is a
strategy employed by states that find themselves in a weak position
B. Significance in int’l law: ​
4.​ Collective Security​
​
A. Definition and explanation: replaces one of military alliances between States, which prevailed
until World War II, to ensure the collective defense of a State by its allies in case of aggression by
another State.
B. Significance in int’l law: Under a collective security arrangement, an aggressor against any
one state is considered an aggressor against all other states, which act together to repel the
aggressor​
5.​ Commercial liberalism​
​
A. Definition and explanation: An economic theory advocating free markets and the removal of
barriers to the flow of trade and capital as a locomotive for prosperity​
B. Significance in int’l law: The Free Market Economy as the Main Guarantee of the State's
Socio-Economic Development and Promoting International Cooperation.​
6.​ Common and differentiated responsibilities​
​
A. Definition and explanation: principle of international environmental law establishing that all
states are responsible for addressing global environmental destruction yet not equally responsible.
B. Significance in int’l law: The differentiated capacity has significance within Int’ law especially
as it maintains to environmental law, it is illogical to expect states that have not developed the
same way richer, global north nations to contribute the same to pollution goals. The United
Nations enforcements and resolutions must adhere to this foundational principle of environmental
law.
7.​ Common Heritage of Mankind​
​
A. Definition and explanation: is an ethical concept and a general concept of international law. It
establishes that some localities belong to all humanity and that their resources are available for
everyone's use and benefit, taking into account future generations and the needs of developing
countries.​
B. Significance in int’l law: CHoM as it relates to international law frames the resources of
Mankind as a collective, subsequently, issues such as distribution and necessity as well as
enforcement of the two latter can play a part in deciding what common heritage entails. ​
8.​ Constitutive and regulative rules​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Regulative rules govern a form of activity that can exist
independently of there being any such rules for governing it.
B. Significance in int’l law: Without constitutive rules which govern the type of activity, there
would be no activities of that type.​
9.​ COP 28​
​
A. Definition and explanation: ​
​
COP 28 - the U.N. Climate Change Conference where a variety of people from all countries
(business leaders, climate scientists, journalists, etc.) come together to address the climate crisis
there to solidify rules to create a framework convention to combat climate change through
institutions. Deeply compromised by the host of a major fossil fuel industry United Arab emirates
​
B. Significance in int’l law: ​
​
Environmental law is a weak area of law, and this allows various people of the international
community to come together to determine strategies to combat environmental harms. ​
Interconnectivity:
Codification of the law:
10.​ Crime against Humanity​
​
What is a crime against humanity?
•Serious attack on human dignity or a grave humiliation or degradation of one or more human
beings
•Not isolated or sporadic, but either part of government policy or of widespread or systematic
practices tolerated or condoned by government or authorities
•Can be perpetrated in times of war or peace
•Actus reus (relatively easy) and mens rea (relatively difficult)
•A crime against humanity is committed when:
•The accused commits a prohibited act;
•That is part of:
–An ‘attack’
–Which is ‘widespread or systematic’ and
–‘directed against any civilian population’
•And when there is a link or ‘nexus’ between the acts of the accused and the attack;
•Statutory requirements vary:
–ICTY requires that the attack be committed in the context of an armed conflict;
–ICTR requires that the attack have a discriminatory element
–Rome Statute (ICC) does not require that either of these requirements be met (and neither is
required by the definition of crimes against humanity in customary international law
11.​ Dolus specialis​
Dolus Speciales: Intention to commit the act (the crime). This is one of three elements required to
say something was a crime (mens rea, dolus, actus rea)
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12.​ Epistemic community​
Epistemic Communities
—---------------------------------•draw their authority from their expertise, their knowledge, and their method, which provides
their accounts with plausibility even where there is no certainty.
•Epistemic communities’ recommendations don’t carry the weight of enforcement; but they
delimit the field of policy options by laying out the probable effects of each option, and thereby
framing the range of alternatives that actors consider. As a consequence they affect the
decision-making matrix of major players
•An epistemic community can be transnational, and it can be located in a variety of different
institutions, some national, some multilateral, some academic, etc.
•The effectiveness of an epistemic community is likely to be enhanced if you have a congruence
of value orientations among experts/scientists and policymakers.
•Epistemic communities are likely to be particularly significant in conditions of relatively high
uncertainty (they provide metrics for assessing risk…)
Haas:“a knowledge-based network of specialists who shared belief in cause-and-effect relations, validity
tests, and underlying principles values and pursued common policy goals.” They also acknowledged
‘plausibility of a causal link without certainty.’ (cf. IPCC; IAASTD; but cf. also recent ‘debate’ on
hydroxychloroquine: ‘run the trials’ >< ‘what do you have to lose?’…)
​
13.​ Framework Convention (eg. on Climate Change)​
Framework Conventions— enshrine some basic principles or lay down general guidelines or set
out national and international policy while establishing the framework for the elaboration of and
adoption of future treaties
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
—------------------------------------------------------------------The ultimate objective of the Framework Convention is "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in
the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic [i.e., human-caused] interference
with the climate system".[1] Article 2 of the convention says this "should be achieved within a time-frame
sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not
threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner".
The idea is that, as they are the source of most past and current greenhouse gas emissions, industrialized
countries are expected to do the most to cut emissions on home ground. They are called Annex I countries
and belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). They include 12
countries with "economies in transition" from Central and Eastern Europe. Annex I countries were
expected by the year 2000 to reduce emissions to 1990 levels. Many of them have taken strong action to
do so, and some have already succeeded.
Industrialized nations agree under the Convention to support climate change activities in developing
countries by providing financial support for action on climate change-- above and beyond any financial
assistance they already provide to these countries. A system of grants and loans has been set up through
the Convention and is managed by the Global Environment ..which have ratified it).
●​ They must also submit an annual inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions, including data for
their base year (1990)and all the years since.00000..
●​ Developing countries (Non-Annex I Parties) report in more general terms on their actions both to
address climate change and to adapt to its impacts - but less regularly than Annex I Parties do,
and their reporting is contingent on their getting funding for the preparation of the reports,
particularly in the case of the Least Developed Countries.​
14.​ Geneva Conventions Protocol I (1977)​
​
Lawful Combatants: Protocol I (1977)
—-------------------------------------------------------•Defines armed forces (ie. lawful combatants) as “all organized armed forces, groups and units
which are under a command responsible to [a Party to a conflict] for the conduct of its
subordinates, even if that Party is represented by a government or an authority not recognized by
an adverse Party.” (not ratified by US)
•Entitled to POW status provided they:
•a) distinguish themselves from the civilian population while engaged in an attack or in a military
operation preparatory to an attack
•Carry arms openly under the following conditions:
•During each military engagement
•When visible to the adversary while engaged in military deployment preceding launch of an
attack in which he is to participate
•==è regime increasingly inclusive of non-state actors
​
15.​ Genocide​
U.N. GA adopted the Genocide Convention in 1948: (i.) It sets out a careful definition of the
crime [Intentional killing, destruction, or extermination of groups or members of a group such as,
was first conceived as a category of crimes against humanity] (ii.) It punishes other acts
connected with genocide [conspiracy, complicity, etc.] (iii.) It prohibits genocide regardless of
whether it is perpetrated in time of war or peace (iv.) It considers genocide both a crime involving
criminal responsibility of the perpetrator [and other participants], and an international
delinquency entailing the responsibility of the State whose authorities engage in, or otherwise
participate in the commission of genocide. Two most blatant flaws of the Genocide Convention:
(i.) The definition of Gneocide does not embrace the extermination of a group on political
grounds, nor cultural genocide (ii.) The enforcement mechanism envisaged in the Convention is
ineffective (Cassesse 442-443)
Actus and Mens Rea of Genocide: Actus Rea layed out in Article IV of the Genocide
Convention: (i.) Killing members of a national or ethnic, racial or religious group (ii.) Causing
serious bodily harm or mental harm to members of the group (iii.) deliberately inflicting on the
group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part (iv.)
Imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group (v.) forcibly transferring children of
the group to another group. Mens Rea layed out in Article II of the Genocide Convention: ‘the
intent ot destroy, in whole or part, a national, ethnical,racial or religious group. This amounts to
dolus specialis: Aggravated criminal intention​
16.​ Global public goods​
•Global Public Goods (eg. climate change; ozone layer; ‘common heritage of mankind’)
17.​ Horizontal legal process​
Chayes and Chayes: Horizontal legal process
—-----------------------------------------------------------•Compliance problems seldom originate with scofflaws:
•Ambiguity/vagueness
•Lack of capacity
•Poor information
• propensity to seek cooperative solutions, and therefore compliance:
•Considerations underpinning a propensity to comply:
•Efficiency
•Interests
•norms
•New sovereignty: è management strategy:
•Expand transparency
•Settle disputes
•Build capacity
Use persuasion
The managerial approach to international law: International law emerges not because States
always make cost-benefit analysis calculations like Guzman would say, States comply because
they are acting in good faith. There is a lot of work that goes into establishing law. The process of
doing law indicates a commitment to doing law. People enter into international law because they
have expended the vast resources to create laws. States violate laws because of the inability to
follow them through misunderstanding or incapacity. Law making emerged from the
interdependent nature of law creation between States rather than what Koh would say through the
obedience model in Vertical process theory. Sovereignty in the modern era is not about protecting
individual states, it's about being a good citizen in an increasingly interdependent world.
Sovereignty is an interactive concept rather than being boundary based like in the Vertical Process
Theory (Internalization of legal norms through interpretation).
​
18.​ Human rights regime​
Being Human: The requirements for living a meaningful life?
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Quality: ´The things you were born with: needs and potential
´Reason
Conscience (moral capacity? The ability to feel and express empathy?)
´Dignity
´Personality
´Identity
´Others…?
Category: ´Individual (citizen?)
´Member of group/class (culture?)
´Member of society/nation (sovereignty – ‘self-determination of peoples’?)
What are rights?
—-------------------------------------´Rights are claims:
´Claims to (a particular good)
´Claims against (a particular agent)
´What kind of Claims?
´Moral claims
´Political claims
Legal claims
Human Rights Regime: Universalist Claims
—------------------------------------------------------------´There are some minimum necessary means that all require to meet their needs and to realize their
capacities
´
´All humans face common threats
´
´There are certain minimum duties or obligations to strangers that we all owe
A rights regime: components
—----------------------------------------´A language/discourse through which to articulate rights (as norms, claims, or entitlements)
(Direct and Indirect)
´Institutions to advance, implement, and adjudicate rights claims (formal institutions and
Informal institutions)
´Legal instruments/texts through which to articulate the rules that secure rights (Hard Law and
Soft Law)
´Political actors to set standards, monitor, and evaluate rights implementation (State Actors, Ios,
NGOs, SMOs, etc)
´è monitoring, setting standards, and enforcing
´è is it possible to have an effective human rights law without establishing some supranational
jurisdiction?
Norms are all you can get– but they are all you need because that's what States follow. Regimes
have a. Institutions (ICC, ECHR, UNHRC, Amnesty International), b. Instruments (Conventions,
Treaties, Laws), c. Discourse (What is the language of human rights built into the instruments), d.
Political Actors (all of these listed above in what makes up a rights regimes– Actors set standards,
monitor and evaluate rights implementation). Are human rights being consolidated across time? ​
19.​ Human security​
The basis of R2P. If you start at the Grotian tradition– the fundamental principle of international
law is security, national security– adaptive self help is what shapes state behavior to realists. By
2005 you have people talking about R2P— people have to be looked after and their fundamental
rights secured. The blurring of sovereign conditions (trade, interdependence, war, travel, etc.) is
so different today. Human security emerges from the idea of national security/sovereign immunity
breaking down because we have a fundamental obligation to protect humanity. The only tool we
have to provide for international human security is the United Nations– thus an obligation has
opened up. Notion of human security was created to crack the boundaries of sovereignty and say
that we care about people over States.​
20.​ Ideational Liberalism​
Ideational liberalism:
Stresses the impact on state behavior of conflict and compatibility among collective social values
or identities concerning the scope and nature of public good provision. National identity:Where
borders coincide with underlying identity, coexistence and mutual cooperation are more likely
where conflict is more likely with inconsistencies between borders and identities. Political
identity:Differences in perception of domestic political legitimacy translate into patterns of
underlying preferences and thus variation in international conflict and cooperation.
Socioeconomic preference: Societal preferences concerning the nature and level of regulations
impose legitimate limits on markets. Interested in the identity of the national community. The
notion of the nature of nationalism. Values, Ideas and access to Institutions. All liberals stress
how social power and social alliances within a country works and how their access to the levers
of power are shaped. Like democracy and peace, want the world to at least hum, are you a
democracy or not?
​
21.​ International Bill of Rights​
The International Bill of Human Rights was the name given to UN General Assembly
Resolution 217 (III) and two international treaties established by the United Nations. It consists of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948), the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966) with its two Optional Protocols and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966). The two covenants entered
into force in 1976, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified them.
Ask about in review session​
22.​ International Criminal Court​
International Criminal Court (Rome Statute)
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------•“to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the
prevention of such crimes.”
•Independent and treaty-based (pace US position on role of SC)
•Limited jurisdiction:
–Individuals
–Four crimes (one not yet defined)
–State parties
–Crimes after 2002
•Complementarity (National law comes first, this is the law of last resort— only invoked if a
national government is willing or unable to hold perpetrators to account)
•Limited legitimacy
•Jurisdiction over four crimes: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, crimes of
aggression
•Limited Jurisdiction: neither strictly treaty-based nor universal (Limited by crime and by party)
•Jurisdiction is complementary: depends on states’ willingness and/or ability to prosecute
Just a repeat of what I listed under the Rome Statute down below– The ICC was created through
the Rome Statute of 1998 and has the characteristics I listed here above
​
23.​ International Customary Law​
​
Customary International Law:
Customary International Law is any law that comes out (emerges) of state norms (practices) that
have (i.) General practice (usus/diuturnitas) and has the (ii.) conviction that such state practice
reflects or amounts to law (opinio juris) or is required by social, economic or political exigencies
(opinio necessitatis). All states are bound to Customary International Law unlike Treaties
(Meaning States do not have to consent to or support C.I.L.).
24.​ International Regime​
International regime:
Mutual expectations, rules and regulations, plans, organizational energies and financial
commitments, which have been accepted by a group of states. Simply: Governing arrangements
that affect relationships of interdependence. States have devised these and applied them because
they work for them.
Explicit or implicit principles, rules, norms, and procedures create a framework of expectation
within which states work. This creates an institutional framework for behavior in the
International arena (cf. Frieden et al)
​
25.​ Intersubjective identity formation​
Intersubjective identity formation:
Intersubjective meanings are created in processes of signaling, interpreting, and responding:
“it is through reciprocal interaction…that we create and instantiate the relatively enduring social
structures in terms of which we define our identities and interests.” [Alex Wendt– Constructivist].
Discusses how state identities are constructed. State identities are created through norms and
intersubjectively. These intersubjective interrelationships between states as subjects and other
states, these interactions that create meanings now become part of the identity of states. States do
not have pre-given interests, they are socialized to have them. The world is a self-help world and
anarchy because that is the way we have defined it. States can learn and states can unlearn.
STATES IDENTITIES ARE FORMED THROUGH SOCIALIZED INTERACTION WITH ONE
ANOTHER.
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26.​ Joint criminal enterprise​
Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the
prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each
member of an organized group individually responsible for crimes committed by the group within
the common plan or purpose. It arose through the application of the idea of common purpose and
has been applied by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to prosecute
political and military leaders for mass war crimes, including genocide, committed during the
Yugoslav Wars 1991–1999.
For example, "if three people commit a bank robbery and one fatally shoots a person in the
process, the law considers all guilty of murder". The concept of "collective liability" where more
than one person can share liability and punishment for the actions of another person is not
universally accepted and is considered by some to be a form of human rights abuse, while others
believe it is just.
27.​ Jus cogens​
​
Jus cogens - a rule or principle from which no derogation is not permitted. Within international
law, the concept of jus cogens is reflective of the community’s disapproval of specific actions,
such as torture. This means that under no circumstance must this action occur, for there is no
justifiable reasoning for the perpetrator to validate said action. ​
​
Significance in int’l law: ​
28.​ Jus Gentium​
Jus Gentium:
The idea that states will act on a self-interested basis on the international level. Part of the Grotian
tradition of law. Law emerges from the state in the Grotian tendency. Use emerging from the
subjects— law is created by the subjects themselves. Old system is the law that emerges from the
laws of states themselves. Reciprocity is a huge focus here.
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29.​ Jus ad bellum​
Jus Ad Bellum:
The body of international law governing the right of one state to resort to war against another.
-Self Defense (National Self-Defense, Collective Defense,Armed Attack, Proportionate
Response, Anticipatory Defense, Necessity because Peaceful Means have been exhausted, Cannot
continue to occupy the territory of those who you invade)
-Citizens Abroad
-Treaty Permitted Military Action (U.N.S.C. Resolutions [Interventions])
​
30.​ Jus in bello​
the body of international law regulating the conduct of combatants during war in order to
minimize unnecessary damage and suffering:
31.​ Law of Succession​
If a State is replaced, it takes on the obligations of its predecessors: debt obligations and treaty
obligations for example. Bush could not just say his United States is entirely different from the
State before. Law of succession states that treaties are valid from regime to regime. Conditions
when this law of succession does not exist: Colonies becoming independent means they are a
fundamentally new state, not liable for their colonial overlords past doings. When is a State a
State is important here
32.​ Mens rea​
Mens Rea is one of three elements required to list something as a crime. Mens Rea means that a
criminal must have been in a conscious state of mind when committing a crime and fully
understanding of what they were doing to be charged.
33.​
Multilateralism​
A system of co-ordinating relations between three or more states in accordance with certain
principles of conduct. All the states agree to recognize and abide by the principles of conduct or
Rules of the Game in that particular issue area (eg. Principles of free trade)
•Because they all buy into the principles of conduct, they recognize the outcomes of their
collaboration as (i) indivisible between them with respect to the range of behavior in question;
and (ii) reciprocity is diffuse rather than specific to the parties of particular interactions
•Historically three main realms: stabilizing international property rights (eg. use of oceans);
solving coordination problems (eg. international telegraphy); resolving collaboration problems
(eg. collective security)
- multilateralism can be ‘quantitative’ or ‘qualitative.’
​
34.​ Opinio juris​
Opinio juris:Conviction that general practice of a state (usus) reflects, or amounts to law
35.​ Pacta sunt servanda​
Pacta Sunt Servanda: Parties to international agreements must abide with them
A nation must obey the treaties that it signs onto, Pacta Sunt Servanda is basically just another
word for the Principle of reciprocity meaning that nations have to keep their word or face being
untrustworthy at the international level
​
36.​ Precautionary Principle​
​
The Precautionary Principle: Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of
full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or
minimize such a threat
•The Precautionary Principle is a strategy to cope with possible risks where scientific understanding is yet
incomplete, such as the risks of nanotechnology, genetically modified organisms and systemic
insecticides.
•The Precautionary Principle is defined as follows:
When human activities may lead to morally unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but
uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm. Morally unacceptable harm refers
to harm to humans or the environment that is
•threatening to human life or health, or
•serious and effectively irreversible, or
•inequitable to present or future generations, or
•imposed without adequate consideration of the human rights of those affected.
•The judgment of plausibility should be grounded in scientific analysis. Analysis should be ongoing so
that chosen actions are subject to review. Uncertainty may apply to, but need not be limited to, causality
or the bounds of the possible harm.
Actions are interventions that are undertaken before harm occurs that seek to avoid or diminish the harm.
Actions should be chosen that are proportional to the seriousness of the potential harm, with consideration
of their positive and negative consequences, and with an assessment of the moral implications of both
action and inaction. The choice of action should be the result of a participatory process.
​
37.​ Principles that govern jus in bello
-Military necessity
-Distinction
-Proportionality
-Humanity (?) (cf. ICCPR)
​
38.​ Principle of complementarity​
The Principle of complementarity is the basis of the relationship between the International
Criminal Court (ICC) and national courts in relation to the application of international criminal
law.
The principle of complementarity is implemented by the ICC through Articles 17 and 53 of the
Rome Statute, it provides that a case is inadmissible before the ICC if it is currently under
investigation by a state with jurisdiction over it. The concept of complementarity, however,
allows for ICC jurisdiction in situations when the state is unable or unwilling to proceed with an
investigation or where the state investigation is conducted in bad faith such as when it is used to
shield the person from criminal responsibility.
In other words, States have the primary competence and authority to investigate and prosecute
international crimes, and the ICC has secondary jurisdiction. Given that complementarity is
assessed on a case-by-case basis, the ICC and states must together ensure that all atrocities in
each situation are addressed.
​
​
39.​ Principle of reciprocity​
Also known as Pacta Sunt Servanda, The Principle of reciprocity can best be defined as: The
principle that states have the principal responsibility of protecting themselves and that states have
an obligation to honor the treaties they undertake.
​
favors, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one state to the citizens or legal entities of
another, should be returned in kind
40.​ Privileged belligerent/lawful combatant​
​
Lawful Combatants: (1.) They were commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates
(2.) They had a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance (3.) They carried arms openly and
(4.) They conducted their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war
​
Protections of Lawful Combatants: (i.) May not be punished for taking part in hostilities, (ii.)
Are entitled to all rights afforded to combatants under international law should they meet requisite
conditions listed previously, (iii.) May only be tried and punished for war crimes they may have
perpetrated during the hostilities
​
•POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities through lawful methods.
Detention is a matter of security, not punishment.
•POWs must be treated humanely (and safely) at all times
•POWs must be released and repatriated promptly when hostilities end
​
41.​ Republican liberalism​
stresses the impact on state behavior of varying forms of domestic representation and the
resulting incentives for social groups to exchange rent seeking
42.​ Reputational costs​
The costs associated with the failure of a state to uphold its obligations, reputational costs are
costs that affect a state's ability to enter into future agreements with other states. States will only
sacrifice their reputation (ability to enter into future agreements) if the benefits outweigh what
they would gain from future relations from other states.
​
43.​ R2P
R2P stands for the Responsibility to Protect. It was first found in the International Commission on
Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) report in December of 2001. It is a term used to
justify humanitarian intervention (or even possible ecological intervention) that has largely
dissipated. I have listed its principles and Scope/Justification below
​
​
R2P: Principles
—-----------------------The 3 pillars of R2P
the responsibility of each State to protect its populations (pillar I); the responsibility of the
international community to assist States in protecting their populations (pillar II); and the
responsibility of the international community to protect when a State is manifestly failing to
protect its populations (pillar III).
•State carries primary responsibility for protection of populations from genocide, war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing
•International community has responsibility to assist states in fulfilling this responsibility
•International community should use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful
means to protect populations. If state fails to protect populations or is perpetrator, international
community must be prepared to use stronger measures, including collective force through UN
Security Council
R2P: Scope and Justification
—-------------------------------------Limited Scope- •Genocide
•War crimes
•Crimes against humanity
•Ethnic cleansing
Strict Justification- •Just cause – serious threat/harm
•Right intention – end catastrophe
•All non-military options exhausted
•Reasonable prospect of success and proportional to threat/crisis.
•Adverse consequences of action should clearly be less than consequences of inaction
​
44.​ Rome Statute​
​
A. Definition and explanation: The Rome Statute establishes the International Criminal Court and
did so in the year 1998. Other important points on the ICC below.
•“to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the
prevention of such crimes.” ← The significance of the Rome Statute in International Law
•Independent and treaty-based (pace US position on role of SC)
•Limited jurisdiction:
–Individuals
–Four crimes (one not yet defined)
–State parties
–Crimes after 2002
•Complementarity (National law comes first, this is the law of last resort— only invoked if a
national government is willing or unable to hold perpetrators to account)
•Limited legitimacy
•Jurisdiction over four crimes: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, crimes of
aggression
•Limited Jurisdiction: neither strictly treaty-based nor universal (Limited by crime and by party)
•Jurisdiction is complementary: depends on states’ willingness and/or ability to prosecute
​
​
45.​ Soft law ​
​
Soft Law: •Standards, commitments, joint statements, declarations of policy or intention, GA
resolutions, etc.
•Derives from the increasing role of international organizations and other collective bodies in promoting
action on matters of general concern (and generally created within IOs)
•Deal with new concerns of the international community
•Do not impose legally binding obligations (or do they)?
​
-’credible commitment’ (Abbott and Snidal)
•“The realm of soft law begins once legal arrangements are weakened along one or more of the
dimensions of obligation, precision, and delegation.” [Abbott and Snidal]
Easier to reach agreement (‘a tool of compromise’)
-Flexibility- easier to amend, replace, or supplement
-Avoid the domestic ratification process
-May actually reflect consensus better than a Treaty
- Negotiations matter
Usus, opinio juris and opinio necessitatis
46.​ Sovereign immunity​
​
A. Definition and explanation: the official exemption of a ruler or state from certain types of civil
suit and criminal prosecution​
B. Significance in int’l law: We find that through the development of the rules of humanitarian
law and war crimes that the idea of sovereign immunity has been chipped away and that in most
cases, officials can be tried despite being part of a State. This precedent started when during the
Nuremberg trials, members of the Nazi-German government were tried for their crimes before a
tribunal. This opened the doors to allowing sovereign immunity to not be as protective as it was
before W.W.II ​
47.​ Sovereignty costs​
​
A. Definition and explanation: the symbolic and material costs of reduced national autonomy​
B. Significance in int’l law: The more independent institutions in the international arena are, the
more States incur a sovereignty cost because institutions actions are often unpredictable. Soft law
often offsets the costs imposed through sovereignty costs by allowing States to maintain more
flexibility than they would through hard legalization ​
48.​ State preferences​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Domestic politics matter, what groups/coalitions outside of the
government think are what a state acts on (DOMESTIC COALITIONS MATTER)
State can be disaggregated (not unitary actor): relationships between individuals/social groups
and governments is significant
•Inter-state politics is the domain of different kinds of actor
•Some distinguish between different kinds of regime (eg. liberal v. non-liberal states)
​
49.​ Terrae nullius​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Territory belonging to no one​
Terra nullius is a term that refers to a “territory without a master.” It is a term used in public
international law to describe a space that can be inhabited but that does not belong to a state, meaning the
land is not owned by anyone. In fact, when a State or an entity describes a land as a terra nullius, the land
is in reality occupied – by a nation or a minority – but the term has oftentimes been used in order to
legitimize state occupation and colonization. In international public law, when the definition terra nullius
is given to a land, it can legally legitimize its occupation and acquisition of sovereignty by another nation,
under the doctrine of discovery, which the ICJ has approved as a legal method of acquisition of territory.​
50.​ Transnational legal process​
​
A. Definition and explanation: the transsubstantive process in each of these issue areas
(Comparative Law, Immigration and Refugee Law, International Business Transactions,
International Commercial Law, International Trade Law, Foreign Relations Law, National
Security Law, Law of Cyberspace, Law and Development, Environmental Law, and the Law of
Transnational Crimes) whereby states and other transnational private actors use the blend of
domestic and international legal process to internalize international legal norms into domestic
law. As I have argued elsewhere, key agents in promoting this process of internalization include
transnational norm entrepreneurs, governmental norm sponsors, transnational issue networks, and
interpretive communities. In this story, one of these agents triggers an interaction at the
international level, works together with other agents of internalization to force an interpretation of
the international legal norm in an interpretive forum, and then continues to work with those
agents to persuade a resisting nation state to internalize that interpretation into domestic law.
Through repeated cycles of “interaction-interpretation-internalization,” interpretations of
applicable global norms are eventually internalized into states’ domestic legal systems
This legal process theory is focused on the Interaction,Interpretation and Internalization of
international norms into the domestic legal structures of sovereign states.
This is a Vertical Legal Process (Koh)​
​
51.​ UN Charter Article 2(4)​
​
A. Definition and explanation:This section of the U.N. charter states that members must refrain
from the use of force (or threat of force) to upheave the territorial or political independence of
other nations.
​
52.​ UN Charter Article 51​
​
A. Definition and explanation:The inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an
armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken
measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.
​
B. Significance in int’l law:This Article found under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter allows
nations to act in immediate and proportional self-defense to a mass armed attack against their
sovereign territory until the United Nations is able to address the matter ​
53.​ UN Charter Article 55​
​
A. Definition and explanation:“With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and
well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on
respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations
shall promote:
a. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress
and development;
b. solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international
cultural and educational cooperation; and
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”
​
B. Significance in int’l law: This article is evidence to the possibility of an emerging norm to
protect human life and promote the respect and development of the international world to create
more stable lives through opportunities to work, have high standards of living and achieve certain
economic thresholds that would allow peaceful relations to flourish amongst the nations. This
term also ties in with the Responsibility to Protect notion. ​
54.​ UN Charter Article 2(7)​
​
A. Definition and explanation: The U.N. shall not intervene in domestic (Internal) disputes or
require those matters be submitted for review.
​
B. Significance in int’l law: This article is significant because it recognizes States rights under
sovereignty that internal matters are only allowed to be handled by the State dealing with said
issues, unless they explicitly request help from the U.N. or other bodies ​
55.​ UN Charter Chapter VI (-and-a-half; three-quarters)​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter deals with peaceful
settlement of disputes. It requires countries with disputes that could lead to war to first of all try to
seek solutions through peaceful methods such as "negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation,
arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful
means of their own choice." If these methods of alternative dispute resolution fail, then they must
refer it to the UN Security Council. Under Article 35, any country is allowed to bring a dispute to
the attention of the UN Security Council or the General Assembly. This chapter authorizes the
Security Council to issue recommendations but does not give it power to make binding
resolutions; those provisions are contained in Chapter VII. Chapter VI is analogous to Articles
13-15 of the Covenant of the League of Nations which provide for arbitration and for submission
of matters to the Council that are not submitted to arbitration. United Nations Security Council
Resolution 47 and United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 are two examples of Chapter
VI resolutions which remain unimplemented.
International Law moves through the solidification of norms. Chapter VI is nothing without the
tools of peacekeeping. The UN will underwrite peace talks, but the people in the nations need to
be protected while conflict is ongoing. Traditional peacekeepers are a violation of sovereignty, so
UN peacekeepers are only there to keep two sides away from each other. No provision for
peacekeeping in Chapter VI (Chapter VI itself allows for peacebuilding), Chapter VI and a half
allows for peacekeeping, Chapter VI and three quarters allows peace building through more
advanced intervention by arms and institution building​
​
56.​ UN Charter Chapter VII​
​
A. Definition and explanation: The articles under this chapter discuss that force cannot be used
against other nations unless it is self defense under Article 51. It's the chapter in which you are
supposed to use pre-violence sanction before violence, but this chapter authorizes war.
​
​
57.​ UN Charter Chapter VIII​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter deals with regional
arrangements. It authorizes regional organizations (such as the African Union) and even requires
attempts to resolve disputes through such agencies (if available) prior to intervention by the UN
Security Council. However, Article 53 provides that "no enforcement action shall be taken under
regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council."
Chapter VIII makes reference to enemy states, which were powers such as Japan and Germany
that remained enemies of the UN signatories at the time of the promulgation of the UN Charter
(in the closing months of World War II in mid-1945). There have been proposals to remove these
references, but none have come to fruition. Chapter VIII is analogous to Article 21 of the
Covenant of the League of Nations, which provides, "Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed
to affect the validity of international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration or regional
understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace."
​
58.​ UN Security Council Resolution 1373​
​
A. Definition and explanation: SC Res. 1373 (Sept. 28, 2001) (Excerpt)
—-------------------------------------------------•“Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations:
•1. Decides that all States shall:
•a) Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts;
•b) Criminalize the wilful provision or collection, by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by
their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds should be used, or in the
knowledge that they are to be used, in order to carry out terrorist acts;
•c) Freeze without delay funds and other financial assets or economic resources of persons who
commit, or attempt to commit, terrorist acts or participate in or facilitate the commission of
terrorist acts……
•d) Prohibit their nationals or any persons and entities within their territories from making any
funds, financial assets or economic resources or financial or other related services available,
directly or indirectly, for the benefit of persons who commit or attempt to commit or facilitate or
participate in the commission of terrorist acts……
•2. Decides also that all States shall……
•a) Refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive….
•b) Take the necessary steps to prevent the commission of terrorist acts, including by provision of
early warning to other States by exchange of information;
•c) Deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts, or provide safe
havens;”
•etc…..
​
B. Significance in int’l law: The resolution aimed to hinder terrorist groups in various ways. It
recalled provisions from resolutions 1189 (1998), 1269 (1999) and 1368 (2001) concerning
terrorism. UN member states were encouraged to share their intelligence on terrorist groups in
order to assist in combating international terrorism. The resolution also calls on all states to adjust
their national laws so that they can ratify all of the existing international conventions on
terrorism. It stated that all States "should also ensure that terrorist acts are established as serious
criminal offenses in domestic laws and regulations and that the seriousness of such acts is duly
reflected in sentences served."
The resolution established the Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee [CTC] to monitor state
compliance with its provisions.
​
59.​ UN Security Council Resolution 1674​
​
A. Definition and explanation: UN SC Resolution 1674 (2006) Summary: The Security Council
highlighted the importance of preventing armed conflict through a comprehensive approach
involving economic growth, eradication of poverty, sustainable development, national
reconciliation, good governance, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. The
deliberate targeting of civilians during armed conflict was described as a "flagrant violation" of
international humanitarian law. Additionally, provisions of the 2005 World Summit Outcome
Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes,
ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity were reaffirmed. Torture, sexual violence,
violence against children, the recruitment of child soldiers, human trafficking, forced
displacement and the denial of humanitarian aid were also condemned by the Council.
The resolution continued by demanding that all parties to armed conflict adhere to the Hague
Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Geneva Conventions, including Protocols I and II. It
reaffirmed that impunity should end and for all states to comply with their obligations in this
respect, including—if they had not already done so—the ratification of international instruments
relating to humanitarian, human rights and refugee law. Furthermore, all countries had to comply
with the demands of the Security Council.
The Security Council called for special attention to be given to the protection of civilians during
peace processes in post-conflict situations, including an end to attacks on civilians, the provision
of humanitarian assistance, creating conditions for the return of refugees and internally displaced
persons, facilitating access to education and training, re-establishing the rule of law and ending
impunity. It was also important to maintain the civilian character of refugee camps and that
United Nations peacekeeping missions had a clear mandate to protect civilians, as well as the
inclusion of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes for ex-combatants.[7]
In the latter paragraphs of the resolution, the members of the Council condemned all acts of
sexual exploitation by police, military and civilian personnel working for the United Nations, and
attacks on humanitarian workers. Meanwhile, it recognised the important role of regional and
intergovernmental organizations in the protection of civilians. "Appropriate steps" would be
adopted if the deliberate targeting of civilians and protected persons came to the attention of the
Council.[2]
Finally, the Secretary-General Kofi Annan was asked to report on the protection of civilians in
armed conflict within 18 months.
​
B. Significance in int’l law: Resolution 1674 (Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict) was the
first piece of UNSC material to include RtOP. Resolution 1674 stresses peace through
development and democracy. ​
60.​ Universal Declaration of Human Rights​
​
A. Definition and explanation: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an
international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights
and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it
was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 December
1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the 58 members of the United Nations at the
time, 48 voted in favor, none against, eight abstained, and two did not vote.
A foundational text in the history of human and civil rights, the Declaration consists of 30 articles
detailing an individual's "basic rights and fundamental freedoms" and affirming their universal
character as inherent, inalienable, and applicable to all human beings. Adopted as a "common
standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations", the UDHR commits nations to recognize
all humans as being "born free and equal in dignity and rights" regardless of "nationality, place of
residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status".
The Declaration is considered a milestone document for its universalist language, which makes
no reference to a particular culture, political system, or religion. It directly inspired the
development of international human rights law, and was the first step in the formulation of the
International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966 and came into force in 1976.
Although not legally binding, the contents of the UDHR have been elaborated and incorporated
into subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, and national
constitutions and legal codes.
All 193 member states of the United Nations have ratified at least one of the nine binding treaties
influenced by the Declaration, with the vast majority ratifying four or more. While there is a wide
consensus that the declaration itself is non-binding and not part of customary international law,
there is also a consensus that many of its provisions are binding and have passed into customary
social law, although courts in some nations have been more restrictive on its legal effect.
Nevertheless, the UDHR has influenced legal, political, and social developments on both the
global and national levels, with its significance partly evidenced by its 530 translations, the most
of any document in history.
​
B. Significance in int’l law: “In spite of the limitations of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (1948) [Those limitations being that is was not legally binding– but one that makes a
recommendation to States and the other is that is only mentions civil and political rights– heavily
westernized and having no focus on economic, social and cultural rights] it formulated a unitary
and universally valid concept of what values all States should cherish within their own domestic
orders”​
61.​ Universal jurisdiction​
​
A. Definition and explanation: Universal jurisdiction is criminal jurisdiction based solely on the
nature of the crime, without regard to where the crime was committed, the nationality of the
alleged or convicted perpetrator, the nationality of the victim, or any other connection to the state
exercising such jurisdiction. Universal jurisdiction may be exercised by a competent and
ordinary judicial body of any state in order to try a person duly accused of committing serious
crimes under international law as specified in Principle 2(1), provided the person is present before
such judicial body. Principle 2(1) crimes under Universal jurisdiction: serious crimes under
international law include: (1) piracy; (2)␣ slavery; (3) war crimes; (4) crimes against peace; (5)
crimes against humanity; (6) genocide; and (7)␣ torture.
B. Significance in int’l law: This authority is premised on the idea that human rights violations
are an affront to all humanity and this may be punished anywhere, regardless of the defendant's
nationality or the place of their crimes. Universal jurisdiction aims to strengthen international
human rights law by marshaling politically independent domestic courts to enforce that law. The
classic modern example is the Pinochet case , in which Spain attempted to extradite Pinochet
from England [where he was undergoing back surgery] to stand trial in Spain for torture and
related international crimes he allegedly committed in Chile.​
62.​ Usus/state practice​
​
A. Definition and explanation: This is an element required in custom that states that the custom at
hand must be generally practiced in action by a majority of the international community. ​
B. Significance in int’l law: State practice being recognized as a required element of norm/custom
formation sets a hard barrier that you must see a majority of States practicing the action you want
to undertake before it becomes acceptable and part of the law ​
63.​ Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties​
​
A. Definition and explanation: The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an
international agreement that regulates treaties among sovereign states; the VCLT is a codification
of customary international law and state practice concerning treaties.​
B. Significance in int’l law: Known as the "treaty on treaties", the VCLT establishes
comprehensive, operational guidelines, rules, and procedures for how treaties are drafted, defined,
amended, and interpreted. An international treaty is a written agreement between countries
subject to international law that stipulates their consent to the creation, alteration, or termination
of their rights and obligations, as stipulated in the treaty.
Material Breach under the Vienna convention: (i.) repudiation of the treaty not sanctioned by
the moment of the object or purpose of the treaty, (ii.) the violation of a provision essential to the
accomplishment of if the object or purpose of the treaty
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, Article 53: A treaty is void if, at the time
of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law. For the
purposes of the present Convention, a peremptory norm of general international law is a norm
accepted and recognized by the international community of States as a whole as a norm from
which no derogation is permitted and which can be modified only by a subsequent norm of
general international law having the same character.
Under the regime established in the Vienna Convention, States can append reservations at the time of
ratification or accession on the grounds that (i.) The provisions are not expressly prohibited by the treaty
or (ii.) The provisions do not prove incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty.
You will be invited to write ONE essay. You may find the following list a useful guide to the kind of
question you will encounter:
1. ​ Is international law any kind of law at all? If so, what kind of law is it? If not, what is the point of
having it?​
​
https://law.ubalt.edu/downloads/law_downloads/ILT_04_1_1998.pdf ​
https://essayscam.org/forum/fe/nature-international-law-rule-5797/ ​
2. ​ Harold Hongju Koh argues that, even though human rights law is generally unenforceable, “we
are seeing…a process by which norms and rules are generated and internalized and become internal
rules, normative rules, and rules that constitute nations.” (241) While this process may be
rudimentary and sporadic, he believes it has some enforcement impact. Is he b right? If so, how does
this process work? Use empirical data to support your argument. 000000000
​
https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1482&context=mjil#:~:text=The%20pr
ocess%20of%20customary%20international%20law%20involves%20the%20mainte%2D%20nance,
of%20the%20international%20legal%20system. ​
^^^ I want to say this question is referencing customs, (“norms and rules”) and how it may evolve
into treaties and hard/soft law.
3. ​ Can one detect the emergence of a binding norm of humanitarian intervention? Can the current
architecture of International Security accommodate such a binding norm?
​
4. ​ Can one detect the emergence of a relatively stable international human rights (or environmental
regulation) regime? What are the components of such a regime?
5. ​ Do non-state actors have any effect on the way that International Law is made? If so, does this
effect undermine the fundamental precept of ‘sovereignty’ that International Law is based on?
6. ​ Is there any kind of meaningful concept of ‘justice’ that informs International Law? If so, what is
it?
7. ​ Some analysts suggest that International law is fundamentally incoherent today because we
require it to sustain fundamentally incoherent (or incompatible) concepts of rights and
responsibilities in the international order. Do you agree? Use examples to answer this question.
8. ​ Critically assess the argument that the nature of organized conflict in the international realm has
shifted so dramatically in the past twenty years that the current architecture of International Law
cannot adequately manage such conflict, and is perhaps obsolete. If so, what are the indications, and
do we see the emergence of new legal norms of jus in bello?
9. ​ Harold Hongju Koh argues that “In the wake of the Allied victory in World War II, the architects
of the postwar system replaced the preexisting loose customary web of state-centric rules with an
ambitious positivistic order, built on institutions and constitutions: International institutions governed
by multilateral treaties organizing proactive assaults on all manner of global problems” (Hathaway
and Koh, eds 2004: 12). Evidence from recent developments in international politics suggests that
this architecture might be in the process of collapsing. How might interest-based analyses and
norm-based analyses interpret these events differently? And what lessons should we draw from them
for understanding the status of international law?​
​
A. There are 3 factors for propensity when analyzing state compliance: efficiency, interests, and
norms. Efficiency affects state compliance in that it analyzes policies, determines how costly certain
decisions are, and determines whether or not transactional costs will be saved if compliance is met.
Interests often pertain to treaties; treaties reflect the common interests of those involved in this
agreement between states. However, these interests are explored, redefined, and discovered as time
goes on, for circumstances are continuously changing. Finally, Norms are often the initial means by
which agreements are met: they lay the groundwork and offer a familiar structure by which actors are
familiar with handling situations. The fundamental norm of treaties is known as pacta sunt servanda.
This means that all treaties are to be obeyed by all actors who are part of this agreement.
Interest-based perspectives may find justification in breaking agreements, as it may be in the best
interest of a given state. However, the commonly accepted norm of seemingly intending to keep
one’s word regarding international agreements proves just how powerful they are.