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,Coline Staff 2e Master Rechten
2023-2024 VUB
Table of Contents
INTRO, SET-UP, THEORIES & METHODOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ............................................ - 1 -
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... - 1 -
Theories & methodologies of international law ............................................................................. - 3 -
Why bother? ............................................................................................................................................ - 3 -
International law as a science......................................................................................................... - 6 -
Oppenheim 1908...................................................................................................................................... - 6 -
Weil 1983 ................................................................................................................................................. - 6 -
International law as a game ........................................................................................................... - 8 -
Koskenniemi 2005 .................................................................................................................................... - 8 -
Bianchi 2015............................................................................................................................................. - 8 -
Theories of international law ......................................................................................................... - 9 -
Definition ................................................................................................................................................. - 9 -
Traditional approaches: legal positivism .............................................................................................. - 10 -
Critical legal studies (CLS) and the new stream .................................................................................... - 11 -
New approaches to international law (nail): feminism & third world approaches ............................. - 13 -
Feminist approach .............................................................................................................................. - 13 -
Third world approach......................................................................................................................... - 15 -
Methodology of international law ................................................................................................ - 16 -
Sources ................................................................................................................................................... - 16 -
Treaties .................................................................................................................................................. - 17 -
Customary international law................................................................................................................. - 20 -
General principles of law ....................................................................................................................... - 21 -
Unilateral acts and soft law .................................................................................................................. - 22 -
Case law and literature ......................................................................................................................... - 22 -
JUS CONTRA BELLUM GENERAL .......................................................................................................... - 23 -
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. - 23 -
‘Just war’ theory ........................................................................................................................... - 25 -
Evolution in the 19th century ...................................................................................................... - 27 -
Turn of the century until World War II ...................................................................................... - 29 -
1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact ............................................................................................................ - 33 -
The prohibition on the use of force.............................................................................................. - 34 -
Threat or use of force article 2(4) UNC ....................................................................................... - 36 -
What is force? ........................................................................................................................................ - 38 -
Is there a threshold requirement? ......................................................................................................... - 39 -
The right of self-defense ............................................................................................................... - 42 -
Armed attack ratione materiae .................................................................................................... - 44 -
The most grave forms of the use of force ............................................................................................. - 44 -
Military operation distinct from a mere frontier incident .................................................................... - 44 -
Single military vessel ............................................................................................................................. - 44 -
,Coline Staff 2e Master Rechten
2023-2024 VUB
Animus aggressionis .............................................................................................................................. - 45 -
Nadelstichtaktik (Needle prick) ............................................................................................................. - 45 -
What is the relationship between armed attack and aggression? ...................................................... - 45 -
Armed attack ratione temporis .................................................................................................... - 47 -
When does an armed attack trigger the right to self-defense? ........................................................... - 47 -
The Caroline Affair ................................................................................................................................. - 48 -
Armed attack ratione personae .................................................................................................... - 49 -
Necessity and proportionality ............................................................................................................... - 51 -
Example 2003 ICJ Oil Platforms Case .................................................................................................... - 52 -
JUS CONTRA BELLUM II........................................................................................................................ - 54 -
Enforcement action by the UN Security Council ........................................................................ - 54 -
Chapter VI .............................................................................................................................................. - 55 -
Chapter VII ............................................................................................................................................. - 58 -
Action by the UN Security Council ............................................................................................. - 59 -
Decoding article 39 UNC ........................................................................................................................ - 59 -
Threat to the peace ............................................................................................................................. - 59 -
Breach of the peace ............................................................................................................................. - 60 -
Act of aggression ................................................................................................................................. - 60 -
Consequences of an article 39 determination....................................................................................... - 61 -
Provisional measures article 40 UNC. ................................................................................................ - 61 -
Sanctions not involving the use of armed force article 41 UNC. ....................................................... - 61 -
The authorization to use force article 42 UNC. ................................................................................. - 62 -
Legally binding decisions by the UN Security Council article 25 UNC. ........................................... - 63 -
Quasi-legislative body? ......................................................................................................................... - 64 -
Other justifications for use of force .............................................................................................. - 79 -
Intervention by invitation or military assistance on request (MAR) .................................................... - 79 -
Wars of national liberation ................................................................................................................... - 81 -
Unilateral Humanitarian intervention .................................................................................................. - 83 -
Responsibility to protect (R2P) .............................................................................................................. - 85 -
JUS CONTRA BELLUM CASE STUDIES................................................................................................... - 88 -
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine relevant facts.......................................................................... - 89 -
Relevant fact .......................................................................................................................................... - 89 -
,Coline Staff 2e Master Rechten
2023-2024 VUB
Russia’s position .................................................................................................................................... - 93 -
Legal evaluation .................................................................................................................................... - 95 -
The protection of nationals abroad.............................................................................................. - 98 -
A controversial doctrine in the jus ad bellum ....................................................................................... - 98 -
The right to collective self defense ............................................................................................. - 101 -
Donbas peoples’ republics asking for help .......................................................................................... - 101 -
Other justifications for use of force ............................................................................................ - 103 -
Intervention by invitation or military assistance on request (MAR) .................................................. - 103 -
Unilateral humanitarian intervention................................................................................................. - 104 -
A right to unilateral humanitarian intervention? ....................................................................... - 106 -
‘Genocide’ against the people in Donbas............................................................................................ - 106 -
Russia’s nuclear threats – theory ........................................................................................................ - 109 -
Russia’s nuclear threats – practice ...................................................................................................... - 109 -
1981 – 1998 US intervention in Nicaragua ............................................................................... - 111 -
Relevant Facts ...................................................................................................................................... - 111 -
Position of the parties ......................................................................................................................... - 112 -
Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... - 113 -
Humanitarian support ......................................................................................................................... - 114 -
Use of force .......................................................................................................................................... - 114 -
(Indirect) use of force ........................................................................................................................... - 115 -
Self defense .......................................................................................................................................... - 116 -
Overview of support to group fighting de jure government abroad. ......................................... - 120 -
2011 NATO intervention in Libya ............................................................................................ - 122 -
Relevant facts ...................................................................................................................................... - 122 -
Action by UN Security Council – decoding article 39 UNC (recap) ...................................................... - 122 -
Action by UN Security Council – consequences of an article 39-determination (recap) .................... - 123 -
UNSC RES 1973 (17 march 2011) ......................................................................................................... - 124 -
UNSC RES 1970 (26 February 2011) ..................................................................................................... - 125 -
UNSC RES 1973 (17 march 2011) ......................................................................................................... - 125 -
Legal framework .................................................................................................................................. - 126 -
Questions of legality ............................................................................................................................ - 127 -
JUS IN BELLO GENERAL ...................................................................................................................... - 128 -
Introduction & history ............................................................................................................... - 128 -
1859 battle of solferino ....................................................................................................................... - 128 -
1863 international committee of the red cross................................................................................... - 129 -
1863 Lieber code .................................................................................................................................. - 130 -
1864 Geneva convention ..................................................................................................................... - 131 -
1868 Saint Petersburg declaration ...................................................................................................... - 132 -
Hague peace conferences ............................................................................................... - 133 -
1949 Geneva conventions.................................................................................................................... - 136 -
Additional protocols ............................................................................................................................ - 138 -
Other .................................................................................................................................................... - 140 -
,Coline Staff 2e Master Rechten
2023-2024 VUB
Customary international (humanitarian) law.................................................................................... - 140 -
Non-legally binding manuals & commentary ................................................................................... - 140 -
Conflict classification ................................................................................................................. - 141 -
Conflict classification – special cases .................................................................................................. - 148 -
State faced with NIAC, but it disintegrates? ..................................................................................... - 148 -
Third State attacks NSAG abroad? .................................................................................................. - 149 -
Third State supports de jure government fighting NIAC? ............................................................... - 149 -
Third State supports NSAG fighting de jure government in NIAC? ............................................... - 150 -
Scope of application - continued ......................................................................................................... - 153 -
The principle of distinction ........................................................................................................ - 155 -
Combatants versus civilians ................................................................................................................ - 155 -
Fighters versus combatants................................................................................................................. - 159 -
Civilians ................................................................................................................................................ - 161 -
Direct participation in hostilities v. continuous combat function ...................................................... - 162 -
The principle of distinction – continued .............................................................................................. - 165 -
Effective contribution to adversary’s military action ........................................................................ - 166 -
Destruction, capture, or neutralization offers definite military advantage. ...................................... - 166 -
What about dual-use objects? ........................................................................................................... - 167 -
The principle of distinction – specially protected objects ................................................................... - 168 -
The principle of distinction .................................................................................................................. - 169 -
The principle of precautions ................................................................................................................ - 171 -
JUS IN BELLO II ................................................................................................................................... - 175 -
Person hors de combat ............................................................................................................... - 175 -
Prisoners of war ................................................................................................................................... - 175 -
Civilians ................................................................................................................................................ - 179 -
Protection of persons hors de combat in NIACS.................................................................................. - 183 -
Means and methods of warfare .................................................................................................. - 186 -
Enforcement mechanisms (texts) ................................................................................................ - 189 -
Compliance-inducing factors ............................................................................................................... - 189 -
Institutional oversight ......................................................................................................................... - 190 -
Peacetime obligations ......................................................................................................................... - 190 -
The duty to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law .................................... - 192 -
State responsibility (ARSIWA) ............................................................................................................. - 193 -
Individual criminal responsibility ........................................................................................................ - 194 -
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW ....................................................................................................... - 197 -
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... - 197 -
History ....................................................................................................................................... - 200 -
The International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg (IMT) ................................................................... - 200 -
The Nuremberg principles (important) ............................................................................................... - 203 -
Post-world war II ................................................................................................................................. - 205 -
Cold War .............................................................................................................................................. - 206 -
International criminal tribunals .......................................................................................................... - 206 -
International criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)................................................... - 206 -
International criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) ........................................................................ - 208 -
Genocide in Rwanda ............................................................................................................................ - 209 -
,Coline Staff 2e Master Rechten
2023-2024 VUB
International residual mechanism for criminal tribunals ................................................................... - 210 -
Functions of the residual mechanism .................................................................................................. - 211 -
International criminal court ................................................................................................................ - 212 -
Sentence implementation ................................................................................................................... - 213 -
Investigation of the international criminal court ............................................................................... - 214 -
Preliminary examinations ................................................................................................................... - 214 -
Comparison ............................................................................................................................... - 215 -
International crimes ................................................................................................................... - 216 -
Actus reus & Mens rea ......................................................................................................................... - 216 -
Genocide .................................................................................................................................... - 217 -
History .................................................................................................................................................. - 217 -
Four elements of genocide .................................................................................................................. - 219 -
Comparison ............................................................................................................................... - 241 -
GUEST LECTURE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN PRACTICE............................................ - 242 -
International Committee of the Red Cross – mission and mandate .......................................... - 242 -
Red cross and red crescent movement ................................................................................................ - 242 -
International Committee of the Red Cross mission and mandate ..................................................... - 244 -
The characteristics of the committee .................................................................................................. - 244 -
Legal basis for action ........................................................................................................................... - 245 -
Humanitarian access and international humanitarian law ........................................................ - 253 -
Contemporary challenges in armed conflict .............................................................................. - 261 -
Glimmers of hope ...................................................................................................................... - 275 -
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW II .................................................................................................... - 278 -
Jurisdiction and admissibility ..................................................................................................... - 278 -
Admissibility............................................................................................................................... - 298 -
Modes of liability........................................................................................................................ - 307 -
Grounds for excluding responsibility (not to study) .................................................................... - 315 -
,Coline Staff 2e Master Rechten
2023-2024 VUB
GUEST LECTURE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS (DRA. SARAH EL AMOURI) ....-
318 -
Differences between international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law ...... -
319 -
Convergences between international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law . -
322 -
Scope of application of international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law.. -
323 -
Who is bound by IHL and IHRL? (ratione personae) ........................................................................... - 323 -
International humanitarian law ........................................................................................................ - 323 -
International human rights law......................................................................................................... - 325 -
When do IHL and IHRL apply? (ratione materiae) .............................................................................. - 326 -
International humanitarian law ........................................................................................................ - 326 -
International human rights law......................................................................................................... - 331 -
Derogation under international humanitarian law? ......................................................................... - 334 -
Where do IHL and IHRL apply? (ratione loci) ...................................................................................... - 335 -
International humanitarian law ........................................................................................................ - 335 -
International human rights law......................................................................................................... - 336 -
Deviations from traditional approach to human rights jurisdiction ................................................. - 338 -
ECtHR, Georgia v Russia II............................................................................................................. - 344 -
The interplay between international humanitarian law and international humanitarian rights law .. -
345 -
Concurrent application of IHL and IHRL .............................................................................................. - 345 -
Difficulties resulting from concurrent application of IHL and IHRL .................................................... - 346 -
Situations in which concurrent applicability of IHL and IHRL may lead to different outcomes .... - 346 -
Solving norm conflicts between IHL and IHRL – lex specialis........................................................ - 349 -
Illustrations ................................................................................................................................ - 353 -
Example 1: Use of deadly force in international armed conflict ........................................................ - 353 -
Example 2: enemy detention in international armed conflict ............................................................ - 357 -
Example 3: Killing non-international armed conflict fighters ............................................................ - 361 -
Example 4: Detaining non-international armed conflict fighters....................................................... - 362 -
Scheme how to solve concrete cases? ......................................................................................... - 363 -
,Coline Staff
INTRO, SET-UP, THEORIES & METHODOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL
LAW
Introduction
Compared to Belgian law is international law extremely broad. Whichever jurisdiction you are
from, you have a separate course on tax law, family law, social law etc. All that falls under
international law also. In this course we will focus on:
1. Theories of methodology of international law: background on how to interpret and
apply sources of IL that applies across the specter of public international law.
2. Three subfields of international law:
o Jus contra bellum: the law ongoing to war, the law against going to war.
o Jus in bello: if an armed conflict has erupted what are the rules of law that
apply during the armed conflict. The law of armed conflict, international
humanitarian law.
o International criminal law: a war has happened, and rules have been broken
can we prosecute people for violating fundamental rules of IL in that context.
And we will focus on the four main international crimes which are:
§ Crimes against humanity
§ Genocide
§ Aggression
§ War crimes
3. An overarching view: does human rights law have a rule to play in that context and
that changes every year. It is an evolving field and that will be part of a guest lecture.
Just a few pictures to symbolize, the UN has a big role to play in the jus ad bellum.
International Humanitarian Law, jus in bello, is the second picture. The ICRC (international
committee for red cross). And finally, the institution that prosecutes international crimes is
the ICC.
On the exam we will get at least 2 case studies: a fictional case and question that relate to
that case study. We will not ask literal questions you’ll have to apply the knowledge that you
have to a particular set of case facts. The professor will put a lot of information that is
irrelevant, but you have to qualify material facts as relevant legal facts. You have to be able
-1-
,Coline Staff
to distinct what is relevant and what is not. The second case is usually a newspaper article
something that really happened. It is relevant that you try to keep up with current affairs for
this class. All of the exam questions were always a newspaper article, or at least one of the
questions.
Examples of relevant news stories:
1. How Russia attacked and what happens next. In Jus contra bellum class III, we will go
through this entire launching of the invasion of Ukraine and all of the possible legal
justification that were provided by Russia. We will check legally step by step whether
or not they made any sense.
2. Wagner group has committed war crimes. Can we hold the Russian state responsible
for those actions? If not, can we prosecute the Mali members that were responsible
for doing so? Etc.
-2-
, Coline Staff
Theories & methodologies of international law
Why bother?
We will see 3 small examples of why the professor thinks why it is extremely relevant for
international lawyer to think about theories and methodology of international law.
EXAMPLE – 2003 UK House of Lords-debate on the Iraq War – it’s now something that is often
referred to when we talk about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is unacceptable and a clear
violation on the prohibition of use of force. Often you hear then the reference to the invasion
of Iraq in 2003 which was led to the US and joined by the UK and a few other EU countries
(not Belgium). The issue was that the legal questions to most international lawyers were
obvious. We will see that, for the prohibition of the use of force (article 2(4) UNC) there were
only two exceptions to that prohibition:
a. Article 51 UNC: right to self defense
b. Article 42 UNC: Military operations authorized by UN Security Council
Neither of those exceptions applied in this case and there were no invitations by the Iraq
government the US UK and other. Nevertheless, there was a clear debate among IL lawyers
about whether or not these military operations were lawful. When you read through the
debate in the house of commons, British parliament, there was a legal debate between high
level IL lawyers but that was stopped or cancelled by one quote:
“In the end, divisions of legal opinion on international law are nothing new.”
This stopped that legal debate in its tracks. The idea was that we have one group of lawyers
that said that the operations is not in violation of international law and we have another group
that says the opposite. So as a policy maker you can choose and are not bound or restrained
by IL in choosing whether or not to go to war.
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