Various branches of international law (JUR3VARIBRANCHE)
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Various branches of international law - Summary
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Various branches of international law (JUR3VARIBRANCHE)
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Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (RU)
Grade: 8.5.
This document contains a comprehensive summary for the course Various branches of international law. This summary is based on extensive notes from the lectures and seminars. The document includes relevant articles and references to the mandatory case law.
Various branches of international law (JUR3VARIBRANCHE)
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Various branches of international law - Summary
Table of content
General introduction to various branches of international law ........................................................... 2
International human rights law.............................................................................................................. 3
International humanitarian law ............................................................................................................. 8
Lecture 4 – General observations ....................................................................................................... 8
Seminar 3 – Accountability and applicability sources IHL ................................................................... 8
Lecture 5 – Leading principles, implementation and enforcement of IHL ........................................ 10
Seminar 4 – Actors and weapons ...................................................................................................... 11
International criminal law .................................................................................................................... 13
General information .......................................................................................................................... 13
The core crimes ................................................................................................................................. 16
Joint criminal enterprise.................................................................................................................... 17
Co-perpetration ................................................................................................................................. 17
International economic law ................................................................................................................. 18
International trade law...................................................................................................................... 18
International investment law ............................................................................................................ 20
International environmental law ......................................................................................................... 23
1
,General introduction to various branches of international law
• Public international law has a decentralised, horizontal character; there is no central
authority.
• Key actors are states. They enjoy full legal personality. Supporting actors: individuals,
multinationals, international organisations, non-governmental organisations.
• People continue to question the status of public international law as law. However, the
majority of states cares about public international law nowadays.
• Article 38 ICJ Statute gives the sources which the ICJ should apply. It has a broader ambit
nowadays. Key sources of international law today: treaties, customary law, general principles
of law. Other possible sources:
o Judicial decisions – ICJ refers back to earlier judgements, but no binding force.
o Decisions of IO’s – GA resolutions are not binding, UN SC resolutions are binding.
o Unilateral acts – No source, because normally multiple parties would need to agree
before a rule of international law can arise.
o Equity – Reasonableness, just an instrument, no proper source.
o Soft law – Not officially binding. Voluntary adherence.
• Hierarchy of norms:
o 1) There is no formal hierarchy between the sources of international law. All have to
be considered of equal weight.
o 2) However: relative normativity → Ius cogens norms cannot be overridden in any
particular way; no derogation is possible. Erga omnes norms are norms that anyone
on the planet may potentially invoke.
o 3) Furthermore: treaties can qualify their provisions as superior or non-derogable.
o 4) In case of conflict: lex specialis (special law over general law) and lex posterior
(newer rule over older rule).
2
,International human rights law
• Two main categories: civil and political rights + economic, social and cultural rights
o Civil and political = individual freedoms that guarantee protection from the state;
allow you to take part in society (freedom of speech, right to life)
o Economic, social and cultural = protect your social life (right to housing, right to
development, right to health) – Difficult to guarantee
• International law (general): governs the relations between states, basis is state sovereignty
(states can decide what they do and don’t), purpose is peaceful co-existence
• International human rights law: governs the relations between states and individuals, there is
a limitation to what states can do, friction because of different interpretations of norms
• Duty bearers under IHRL:
o State – has obligations/duties
o Not: IO, non-state actors, individuals (they didn’t sign the treaties)
• Rights holders under IHL:
o Individuals – have certain rights
o Discussion: groups (you could say it is called human rights for a reason or you could
say that some rights you can only enjoy as a group, like the right to development)
• Nature of the obligations – three types of obligations:
o Respect = negative obligation to not interfere with human rights
o Protect = obligation to protect individuals from third parties that interfere with your
human rights (indirect horizontal effect)
o Fulfil = actively, effectively ensure a right to everyone; do everything in their power
to give everyone access to a house for instance
• Sources of IHRL:
o Customary law – Universal Declaration of Human Rights (not binding, no supervisory
body, often customary law)
▪ Usus = custom, state is adhering to a certain right for a long time
▪ Opinio juris = recognition, belief that a certain norm is binding
o Treaties – ICESCR, Convention against torture
o General principles of law – When it is recognised by nations as binding, such as the
principle of proportionality; they exist in almost every domestic legal system
• Ius cogens norms → Prohibition of torture and prohibition of genocide. No derogation
permitted.
• ICCPR versus ICESCR
o ICCPR – Capitalists. Individual freedom was the most important. Supervisory body
was created. No action needed.
o ICESCR – Communists. No supervisory body was created in the beginning (there is
one now), so these rights were marginalised. Action is needed.
• Justiciability (liable to trial in court) → Are ICESCR rights justiciable?
o No, because:
▪ Nature of the rights (action is needed); you can’t invoke those rights. Very
complex and difficult to achieve for a state, in which the government has
discretion. Judges would be interfering with the government.
▪ Lack of knowledge within the judiciary.
▪ The rights are too vague for a judge to decide upon it.
▪ States need to take steps (progressively)
3
, o Yes, because:
▪ Civil and political rights are also complex and they also require action from
the state, such as active protection from torture
▪ Civil and political rights can also be vague
▪ Judges also need to know the content of civil and political rights
• General Comments are authoritative guides that provide substantive guidance, in general or
on specific provisions of a treaty
• General Comment 3 is about article 2 ICESCR → Obligations with regard to ESC rights:
o Progressive realisation – Obligation to take steps. You cannot take steps back
(principle of non-retrogression). States must always take their maximum effort.
o Immediate effect – Even though you cannot guarantee everything at once, you
cannot discriminate, some rights don’t require steps and therefore apply
immediately or a particular step has immediate effect (for instance to adopt a
housing strategy).
▪ Certain rights → Non-discrimination, 2(2) ICESCR
▪ Aspects of rights → Undertaking to ‘take steps’, 2(1) ICESCR
o ‘minimum core’ concept – Essential part of specific ESC rights always apply, such as
having basic shelter.
• General Comment 14 is about right to health. Strategy and plan need to be adopted.
Minimum core obligation: you need to ensure right of access to health facilities.
• Monitoring at the UN level is done via two routes:
o Human Rights Council
▪ Predecessor: Human Rights Commission
▪ Main task: adopting resolutions, denouncing certain practices or declaring
what should be done to implement human rights
▪ 47 UN member states are part of the HRC, elected for 3 years, maximum of 2
consecutive terms (6 years in total), membership divided among UN region
(they all have a number of allocated seats), elected by UN GA
• No criteria with regard to becoming a member to the HRC
• Also countries with bad track record of respecting human rights
▪ Reports back to the UN GA
▪ HRC serves as a forum for dialogue, can make recommendations on
development of international law and promotes implementation of
obligations (such as implementation after ratification)
▪ HRC works with resolutions or special procedures
• Special procedure → Special rapporteur is appointed. Independent,
much expertise, voluntary. Can go on fact-finding visits, draft
reports, send communication to a state, intervene in legal cases,
conduct studies.
▪ Universal Periodic Review = peer review mechanism. State drafts a report on
its human rights situation every four years and information from the UN
about that state is compiled → States give feedback on each other.
o Treaty bodies
▪ 10-25 individuals (experts on a specific topic)
▪ Nominated by states in an individual capacity
▪ Elected for 4 years, maximum of 2 consecutive terms (8 years in total)
▪ None of the outcomes are legally binding, but a lot of authority
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