LCP4801 Portfolio Exam Nov 2020.

QUESTION 1 International law is the law that regulates the external relations between states or countries. Pre-colonial African kingdoms contributions to international law have been eliminated, to an extent, by colonialism.1 Elias provides that Africa has a long history of international relations, alliances and exchanged diplomacies similar to that of Europe around the same ancient and medieval periods.2 Strydom distinguishes four time periods regarding the history of international law:  1500 – 1648;  1648 – 1815;  1815 – 1914; and  The World Wars and thereafter. These time periods illustrate the development of a modern state system through examples of interactions between kingdoms or empires. The statement by Yolanda Spies is true that Africa has the rightful claim to be the birthplace of international society and international law in general, as many precolonial African empires practiced and developed international law in some form. We see evidence of origins of ancient international law that includes treaties and customs of interstate relations. The Treaty of Kadesh, for instance, is the oldest known peace-treaty that was concluded in 1269 B.C. between the Hittite Empire (today part of Turkey) and Egypt. This treaty has been acknowledged as one of the first international agreements of international cooperation, reciprocity, good faith and fair dealing3 between sovereign states, where kings of equal status acknowledge each other for their authority. 1 Dube A International Law: Only study guide for LCP4801 (Unisa Press Pretoria 2018) 2. 2 Elias TO Africa and the development of international law (Oceana Publications Inc 1972) 32. 3 Levitt JI “African Origins of International Law: Myth or Reality?” 2015 FAMU 151. In the West of Africa, Mali enjoyed commercial prosperity under Mansa Musa who ruled from 1312 until 1337. Mansa Musa was known for his contribution to international relations after his pilgrimage to Mecca that attracted the attention of the Sultan, and he had also established friendly relations with Egypt, where he caused a sensation with his wealth, and Arabia where he purchased land and houses. The Mali Empire gained wealth by acting a trade hub between the interior and the southern coast of West Africa and across the Sahara desert.4 According to Elias, Musa prospered due to the foreign relations he had fostered with Egypt and Arabia.5 The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw more internal relations among states and commercial relations externally. Elias states that Africa has historically been a central player in the participation of creating universal norms in the form of treaties, customs and general principles of law. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Benin Empire had diplomatic relations with Portugal where they exchanged ambassadors and diplomatic notes. This ambassadorial function led to doctrines of immunities and privileges in precolonial times. During this period, the Benin Empire also conducted trade across borders, negotiated treaties and settled disputes.6 Pre-colonial Africa practiced diplomatic interaction in a similar manner to how it is in practice today, that is, diplomatic immunity, exchanges of envoys, and the use of ambassadors and agreements. Most notable are the interactions between the King of Portugal and Benin, as well as, between him and the Congo in the fifteenth century, and the alliances between the King of Ghana or Mali and Morocco.7 Colonialism resulted in indirect rule by the British empire where British policies and traditions were imposed on the colonies resulting in the old kingdoms being taken over by the new sovereign. Customary African law is made up of unwritten rules and ideas with no central authority, but was instead upheld by family heads or elders.