Summary
Lecture and Reading summary - International Law and Human Rights - 2024 - Grade 9
- Module
- Institution
- Book
All lecture and reading notes for the course
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Seller
Follow
teaksgardens-0r
Reviews received
Content preview
Notes – International Law and Human Rights 2024Lecture 01: 02/04/2024
International law and the study of politics
Law (municipal/ domestic law)
- Perspectives:
- A set of rules
- Individuals must comply.
- A professional practice
- An independent social phenomenon
- An epiphenomenal (reflection, embodiment) of power
- Law does not matter independent from power.
International law
- International law is the body of rules that states consider binding in their mutual relations.
- The definition is highly contested and nearly every word in this definition can be questioned.
- Compared to municipal law, international law has three distinctive features.
- As a result, many lawyers have traditionally rejected the idea that international law is really law.
- Distinctive features:
- Internatinoal law is based on voluntary adhesions (in most cases).
- Weak or no enforcement mechanism (although increasing legalisation).
- Self-help system: countries must enforce the laws themselves.
- Rules are few and vague.
- Most publications are secondary literature.
- Academic views:
- John Austin:
- If law is sovereign command backed by the threat of sanctions, international law is
probably not law.
- Hart:
- If law is about a rule identifying which rules are law, international law can be law.
- Rule of recognition telling us if law is law.
- International relations view on international law:
- Hard law:
- Law as traditionally understood by most people.
- Usually in the form of legally binding treaties.
- Soft law:
- A variety of non-binding normatively worded instruments used in contemporary
international relations by states and international organisations.
- UNGA resolutions, etc.
- Most lawyers do not accept the conceptualisation of soft law as they think that this takes
away the distinctiveness of international law.
,Notes – International Law and Human Rights 2024
The study of politics and international law
- International relations had a strong legalist bend.
- How can we stop another war from happening again (after WW1)?
- International law was viewed as a key to securing world peace (League of Nations).
- However, there has been a disillusionment because of the second World War.
- Morgenthau (lawyer turned IR scholar):
- There can be no more primitive and no weaker system of law enforcement than international law.
- The enforcement of these laws depends on the biggest powers.
- Henkin:
- It is probably the case that almost all nations observe almost all principles of international law
and almost all of their obligations almost all of the time.
- What matters: when law is observed or when law is broken?
- After WW2:
- International lawyers:
- Emphasised international law’s separation from politics.
- Focused on studying specific legal rules and decision-making processes.
- International relations:
- Ignored international law.
- Spoke of regimes, norms, and institutions and not of law.
- Paradoxically, just as international law’s prestige among IR scholars was at its lowest when international
law underwent an explosive growth.
- Key international institutions, treaties, and regimes were born after WW2.
- However, IR scholars argued that the new hegemons (USA, USSR) created new institutions to
entrench their power.
- Mostly power matters.
- 1980s:
- The win of the USA of the Cold War created most of the international institutions.
- Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a partial rapprochement between international law
and international relations.
- Mostly because of constructivism.
- But the study of international law qua politics still takes a distinct approach from the study of
international law qua law.
,Notes – International Law and Human Rights 2024
Simmons: International Law and International Relations
- International law is the set of rules that are intended to bind states in their relationships with each other.
- International law is largely designed to apply to states, both to constrain (the laws of war) and to
empower them (law of sovereignty).
- Increasingly, international law has been codified, so that today most international obligations are
contained in treaty form, although historically customary international law played a relatively
more important role than it does today.
- The influence of international law
- Implementation
- Implementation is usually understood as the integration of international rules into
domestic law and institutions.
- Implementation is shaped by the nature and activities of domestic political and legal
institutions.
- Different legal systems absorb international legal obligations with varying levels
of automaticity.
- The judiciary can be influenced by foreign judicial interpretations that effectively
import international legal interpretations into domestic law.
- Compliance
- Compliance refers to behaviour that is or comes into relative conformity with prescribed
or proscribed behaviour.
- First-order compliance refers to compliance with the substantive provisions of a
rule.
- Second-order compliance refers to actions in accordance with the ruling of an
authoritative body charged with the interpretation or adjudication of a primary
rule (ICC, ICJ).
- Formal international mechanisms to enforce international law are notoriously weak.
- Self-reporting, volunteerism with respect to oversight, and the lack of follow up with
respect to the findings of treaty oversight bodies are often cited as key weaknesses.
- Effectiveness
- Sometimes international treaties do not achieve their goals, even if all actors are in
substantial compliance.
- International law is subject to many of the problems of unanticipated (or undesired)
consequences found in other regulated polities.
- Even if they comply, actors sometimes substitute one undesirable behaviour for
the banned or regulated activity.
- One consequence of the Convention Against Torture has been for
government agents to use horrific forms of physical and psychological
coercion that do not involve permanent bodily harm.
, Notes – International Law and Human Rights 2024
Lecture 02: 12/04/2024
International law and international relations theory
Bin Laden
- Connection to international law:
- Militaries must comply with international law.
- Denial of quarter (killing someone that is unable to fight/ is willing to surrender) is unlawful.
- Bin Laden would have been protected under the Geneva Convention if wounded.
- Could the USA kill bin Laden if he wanted to surrender?
- The USA did not want to capture him alive; did the USA give a kill order? or imply it?
- Sending troops to Pakistan in violation of Pakistani sovereignty = violation of international law.
- Indiscriminate attacks:
- Attacks that are expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians which
would be excessive.
- E.g. attacks by bombardment.
- The USA took custody of his body:
- The dead should be honourably buried, according to religions and in ways the body can
always be found.
- Sea burial on aircraft carrier with religious considerations (against Islam).
- US lawyers discussed situations in which it might be lawful to shoot bin Laden even if he is trying
surrender.
- The biggest employer for international lawyers is probably the military.
The killing of bin Laden and international law
- Functions of law:
- Constraint of force
- Legitimiser of force (who can you kill?)
- Enabler of force
- Fig leaf (law does not really matter – the US would have killed bin Laden no matter what)
- Mutually constitutive (law does something to politics and vice versa)
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller teaksgardens-0r. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £12.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
79976 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now