LCP4801 Semester 01 Assignment 02
Write short notes on the following:
a) The methods through which a state can express its consent under the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) (5)
The consent of a State to be bound by a treaty may be expressed by signature,
exchange of instruments constituting a treaty, ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession, or by any other means if so agreed.
‘Ratification’, ‘acceptance’, ‘approval’ and ‘accession’ have the same legal effect and
are considered as international acts ‘whereby a state establishes on the international
plane its consent to be bound by a treaty’.36 It must be pointed out that signature or
the exchange of instruments as the means of expressing consent may be subject to
ratification, acceptance or approval at a later date. In such instances, the treaty’s entry
into force for the signing state is postponed until such time as ratification, acceptance
or approval can take place.1
b) The legal personality of international organisations (5)
An international organization is an association of States established by a treaty,
possessing a constitution and common organs and having a legal personality distinct
from that of the member States. They are endowed with functions, powers and
personality of their own.
By gaining personality, international organisations gain acknowledgment in the
international legal community. The amount of personality that an international
organisation has depends entirely upon state recognition. Legal personality can
determine the rights that actors have as well as their standings with courts. As
personality is given by states, it stands to reason that international actor are only
1 Strydom and others (eds), International Law (Oxford University Press 2016) 71-120 at 98.
, effective when states allow them to be. Without the approval of states, international
organisations have no rights nor any true ability in the international arena.2
c) The elements which constitute sovereign equality in terms of the General
Assembly’s Friendly Relations Resolution (5)
The sovereign equality of states is one of the most fundamental principles of
international law. It is foundational to international relations and has guided the
formulation of rules of the international system as a whole. Upholding this principle is
essential to a stable society of independent, territorial states and for the integrity of
international law.
These notions we also encounter in the General Assembly’s important Friendly
Relations Resolution of 1970, where we find the following interpretation of the principle
of sovereign equality: All States enjoy sovereign equality. They have equal rights and
duties and are equal members of the international community, notwithstanding
differences of an economic, social, political or other nature.11 In particular, sovereign
equality includes the following elements:
• States are judicially equal;
• Each State enjoys the rights inherent in full sovereignty;
• Each State has the duty to respect the personality of other States;
• The territorial integrity and political independence of the State are inviolable;
• Each State has the right freely to choose and develop its political, social,
economic and cultural systems;
• Each State has the duty to comply fully and in good faith with its international
obligations and to live in peace with other States.
Therefore, all States enjoy sovereign equality. They have equal rights and duties and
are equal members of the international community, notwithstanding differences of an
economic, social, political or other nature. All sovereigns would thus be equal in their
non-subordination to each other.3
d) The distinction between direct and indirect state liability (5)
2 Strydom, in International Law at 166.
3 Strydom, in International Law at 135.
