INTERNATIONAL LAW

1. INTERNATIONAL LAW

2. STATES & SOVEREIGNTY • Each country has laws for its own people, known as domestic law • A country can do this because it is an autonomous state which has sovereignty. • State sovereignty is the power to rule and make laws for that area.

3. STATES & SOVEREIGNTY • The term ‘state’ can refer to a political division within a federation (NSW) or to an autonomous nation-state. • Australia is a sovereign state as only Australia can make laws for Australia. • In the legal sense, a state is an independent entity that is recognised by other states on an international basis.

4. STATES & SOVEREIGNTY In order to be a state, a place must have: • A defined territory • A permanent population • An effective government • The capacity to enter into international negotiations

5. STATES & SOVEREIGNTY International law: • governs the relationships between nation-states • Enables nations to participate in trade and commerce • Provides mechanisms for the maintenance of peace and security, and the reduction of conflict. • Covers fundamental human rights – making it illegal to do things such as torture and genocide.

6. Domestic Law VS. International Law

7. SOVEREIGNTY The notion of state sovereignty is at the centre of all international law. It emerged at the same time as that of the ‘nation state’ – that all nations are fundamentally equal and that each nation’s rulers have the right to make decisions on behalf of the nation. Why is this a problem for International Law?

8. SOVEREIGNTY In Australia, when international law is made, it is up to the federal government to decide if they want the law to become part of Australian law. No other country can force Australia to accept the international law.

9. Commonwealth Rights Charter THE Queen has signed a charter calling for an end to discrimination across the 54 Commonwealth nations. http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/cd99d390_0a65_30f1_8e50_a9f3f0640043/s/

10. Sources of International Law

11. Customary International Law (CUSTOMS) • Not contained within a written document • Based on long established traditions/common practices • Accepted as being fair and right • Develops over time • Requires constant and uniform practice • Not considered ‘law’ unless the nation-states accept the practice as binding = OPINIO JURISIVE NECCESSITATIS

12. EXAMPLE • Customary International Law regulating war had been in existence for a long time before the Hague and Geneva Conventions explicitly outlined rules governing the conduct of nations when in conflict – such as the way in which prisoners of war and civilians were to be treated.

13. Customary International Law (CUSTOMS) Why can it be difficult to establish that international law exists? • Difficult to establish it exists due to the law not being written down • The number of nations in existence has grown since WWI hence getting consensus can be problematic. • Rate of change in the world today is rapid, therefore at times a more immediate response is required.

14. Treaties and Declarations Treaties are the most commonly used source of international law. According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), a treaty is “an international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by the guidelines of international law”.

15. Treaties Treaties can either be: Bilateral: - between two nations E.g. Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and Australia on the Framework for Security Cooperation (The Lombok Treaty) - concerning their common security and respective national treated. Multilateral – between many nationsE.g. Charter of the United Nations (UN) and its organs and agencies.Each country that is a signatory to this treaty has a seat in the General Assembly and participates in UN processes.

16. Treaties The more nations that sign a treaty, the more powerful that treaty will be. Treaties are used to make specific laws and to control conduct and cooperation between and within nations. A treaty may also establish an international organisation E.g. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

17. Treaties There is no set way of making a treaty, but most treaties are made through direct negotiations between nations. If all parties involved agree, then the treaty will be signed. A document will only become a treaty if all parties have the intention of being bound by its provisions and obligations at the time of signing.

18. Treaties A treaty only becomes binding on a nation when that nation RATIFIES it– confirms that it intends to be bound. What does this mean in your own words? This means passing the domestic law to accept the terms and conditions of international law.

19. Treaties For some countries, such as France, treaties which a country ratifies automatically become part of their domestic law.

20. Declarations Declarations: • State and clarify the parties’ position on particular issues • Do not impose legally binding provisions A famous example is the United Nation Declaration on Human rights.

21. Declarations United Nation Declaration on Human Rights. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was established following WWII and the Holocaust to draft the first universal statement on the basic principles of Human Rights.

22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTlrSYbCbHE • Universal Declaration on Human Rights

23. Universal Declaration of Human Rights • The declaration is the foundation for two binding UN human rights covenants: • The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) • The International Covenant on Economics, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

24. Legal Decisions & Writings • The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the judicial body that deals with disputes between states. • Many treaties designate the ICJ as the means of resolving disputes that arise under the treaty.

25. ICJ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkVMiyVkA6c

26. Legal Decisions and Writings • Stare decisis does not apply to decisions of the ICJ • Stare decisis – latin term for ‘the decision stands’. The doctrine that a decision must be followed by all lower courts. • A decision of this court only binds the parties to the particular dispute. • ICJ decisions may help shape the content of treaties

27. Legal Decisions and Writings There are other international courts and tribunals whose judgement contribute to establishing international law. • The International Criminal Court (ICC)Set up to prosecute the most serious crimes concerning the world wide community. • The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)A regional court that rules on violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.

28. Legal Decisions and Writings Specialised courts have also been set up for particular purposes and time-frames – such as war crimes arising from a specific conflict E.g. the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

29. Legal Decisions and Writings The writings of respected international lawyers, judges and academics have an important role to play in guiding decision making and treaty formation. Scholarly writings: • Are a means of determining the rules of international law • May be drawn upon for the purpose of interpreting treaties or determining their application in international disputes.

30. Legal Decisions and Writings Governments may also seek the advice of experts on matters of international law. E.g. The 2007 Panel of Independent International Legal Experts provided advice to the Australian Government on whether the legality of Japans ‘scientiffic’ whaling program could be challenged under the Antarctic Treaty System – International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946).

31. Legal Decisions and Writings Althgouht commercial whaling has been prohibited since 1986 for all memebrs of the International Whaling Commission, Japan has relied on an exemption in the whaling treaty that permits killing whales for scientific research.

32. Use pages 51 – 54 of your textbook to write notes on:a) The United Nationsb) The General Assemblyc) The Security Councild) Non-government organisationsTOMORROW: We are looking at international law case studies and the relevance of international law to Australian law.FRIDAY – practice exam under exam conditions. Please be prompt!!