Samenvatting hoorcollege, kennisclips en uitwerkingen werkgroepopdrachten week 1-8 Public International Law. Compleet met alle informatie voor het tentamen.
In the peace treaty of Westphalia (birth of the IL system) the major European powers sought to
establish a semblance of order and structure in an otherwise anarchical and disorderly European
world.
Positivism: the only true source of law was state will. According to the ‘consensual theory’,
unless a state has consented to be bound by a rule, no international legal obligation exists and
the state remains entitled to act as it pleases.
National and International Law
- What are the main differences? Subjects (State and nationals vs States), IL: no parlement/no
government/different court/no police force or army
- What is international law? International Law = regulation of international relations
- Relationship between national and IL:
- monism:
- a single and coherent legal system
- IL directly applicable in national legal system
- Monism holds that international law and national law essentially form a single legal order or
a set of mutually intertwined legal orders that are presumed to be coherent.
- dualism
- two systems: national law is regulated differently
- IL needs to be incorporated in national legal system for international rules to be
applicable
- Dualism holds that international law and national law are two separate legal systems that
operate independently.
- pluralism
- neither monism and dualism explain the complexity between national law and IL
Structure
- Why do we have IL?
- inadequacy of national law
- dependency of international community
- Two aspects of PIL: Coexistence and Cooperation
- Sovereign Equality of States
- States have supreme power over their territory and may not be subject to the
jurisdiction of other states
- Each state has 1 formal vote which counts equally
- States must consent tot be bound by international rules
- Reflected in the fabric of international law: sources, jurisdiction, immunities
(Non) Implementation of IL
- International Law ≠/= Law
- IL has it weaknesses; implementation and enforcement
- IL is based on consent, goodwill and the promise that IL will be respected.
, - Why do states obey IL? (economic, peer pressure)
- desire for order and predictability over chaos
- consent and obedience; sovereign equality of states
- legitimacy; credibility, reputation
- enforcement mechanisms; retorsions (diplomatic)/contracts
- Enforcement of IL
- IOs (International Organizations)
- International courts and tribunals
- Counter-measures
Clip: International and National Law
- Effect of international law in domestic legal order is determined by domestic law
- Dualist of monist approach
- Monism: international law automatically part of domestic legal order (incorporation)
- Dualism: international law needs to be transformed into domestic law first (transformation)
- Key issues
- Validity (applicability) of international law in domestic legal order
- Direct effect (invocability) of international law in domestic legal order
- Primacy (supremacy) of international law over conflicting domestic law in domestic legal
order
Netherlands:
- Validity
- All international law valid or applicable in domestic legal order
- Domestic law must be applied in conformity with all international legal obligations of the
Netherlands
- Cannot lead to contra legem interpretation of domestic law
- Direct effect
- Only provisions of treaties and of decisions by international organizations which are binding
on all persons by virtue of their contents can be invoked directly (art. 93 Dutch Constitution)
- Primacy
- Dutch law is not applicable if such application is in conflict with provisions of treaties or of
decisions by international organizations that are binding on all persons (art. 94 Dutch
Constitution)
NS-FNV case of Dutch Supreme Court (1986)
Article 6(4) European Social Charter has direct effect if:
- We cannot infer from the travaux préparatoires that direct effect of this provision was
excluded
- The provision does not oblige the Dutch legislator to make domestic law with a particular
content
- The provision is suitable, by virtue of its content, to be applied as if it were a provision of
domestic law
,- To respect separation of powers, judge should not make policy by applying vague international
provisions!
Smoking ban case of Dutch Supreme Court (2014)
- Article 8(2) WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
- Despite the fact that it calls upon Dutch legislator to make domestic law with a particular
content
- Nonetheless, the provision is suitable, by virtue of its content (it is sufficiently clear and
precise), to be applied as if it were a provision of domestic law
- In context of small cafes, this means a complete smoking ban.
Seminar
2. Henriksen writes on page 10, ‘[O]nly when an issue is of interest to more than one national
sovereign will international law enter the picture’.
a. Explain in what ways an issue could become of interest to more than one state?
- Clashing/co-existence of varying State interests
- Use of force
- Jurisdiction and immunity
- Collaboration between states
- International environmental law
- International trade law (WTO)
b. How do these issues of co-existence or collaboration allow international law to ‘enter the picture’?
- States agree treaties with one another to address issues (see also: Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties in week 2)
- States create Customary International Law through practice.
- Judgements of international courts interpret the rules set out in treaties or decide what is
customary.
3. International law is different from national law, yet still has a close relationship with national law.
a. Explain in what ways international law is different from national law?
- Horizontal vs. vertical relationship between the actors (No overarching authority)
- Separation of Powers
- National: law making / executive power / traditional (applies the law)
- International: States / States (horizontal; (group of) states against another) / - )
- Enforcement mechanism
b. The relationship between international law and national law is viewed from two approaches: the
monoist and the dualist approaches. Explain the differences between the monoist and dualist
approaches
(Under international law you can’t evoke a domestic law. Domestic law is no justification for
international law.)
, - Incorporation of international law into domestic law
- Monist State: International law applies directly in national legal order
- Dualist State: International law needs to be transposed into national law before it can be
applied domestically
- The hierarchy between domestic law and international law
- Monist State: if there is conflict, international law prevails
- Dualist State: if there is conflict, international law may be set aside
Who decides whether a State is a dualist or monist?
- The State decides for itself based on its national legal order, usually the constitution
- Some States may not be explicitly one or the other, but a combination. Not a black and white
distinction
- Example: Italy:
- Customary law is incorporated automatically (monism)
- But treaties are not (dualism)
c. Take a look at the Dutch Constitution on Blackboard and answer the following questions: Is the
Netherlands a monist or dualist State? Where do you find this information?
Monist
- Articles and 94 of the Dutch constitution
- Courts may apply international law, written and unwritten
- No need to be transposed to national law
- Direct effect in article 93: Binding on everyone? (The international norms have to be clear enough
(content) to be applicable by the court, without having national norms to explain the content of the
law).
- Supremacy under article 94: Binding on everyone? (sufficient clarity)
Criticism of international law?
- State-centric model of international law
- How do we deal with companies violating people’s rights?
- How do we deal with armed terrorist groups violating peoples rights?
- Is international law about justice?
- No, the main aim was order rather than justice
- Ie the UN Security Council is in charge of peace and security, not justice.
- Lack of enforceability?
- Some mechanisms created, ie ICJ, ICC, ITLOS
- Policing actual enforcement is difficult – remains political (horizontal relationship)
Notes Seminar
Public International law: rules which govern the relations between sovereign states inter-State
relationships
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