PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

Question 1

PIL: DEF

Answer 1

Law that deals with the conduct of states and of international organizations and with their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons, whether natural or juridical.

Question 2

Sources of International Law

Answer 2

Formal sources – concerned with processes by which rules come into existence

Material sources – concerned with substance and content of obligation

Question 3

Article 38 (1) of the Statute of the ICJ

Question 4

(INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE)

Answer 4

1) Custom,

2) Treaties, other international agreements,

3) generally recognized principles of law,

4) judicial decisions and

5) teachings of highly qualified and recognized publicists.

Question 5

Dualism vs. Monism

Answer 5

Dualism – international law and municipal law are essentially different from each other. When international law and municipal law conflict, municipal law must prevail.

Monism – international law and domestic law belong to only one system. 2 monist theories

Question 6

Modes of Acquisition of Sovereignty over Territory

Answer 6

1) Discovery (Island of Palmas case);

2) Prescription;

3) Cession ;

4) Conquest;

5) Accretion and Avulsion;

Question 7

17. Tobar/ Wilson Doctrine

Answer 7

The doctrine that *recognition of a government should only be granted if that administration came to power by legitimate democratic means

Question 8

1. Dualism

Answer 8

• prioritizes the notions of individual self-determination and sovereignty at the state level.

Question 9

2. Monism-

Answer 9

prioritizes the desirability of a formal international legal order to establish the rule of law among nations,

Question 10

3. Doctrine of Incorporation -

Answer 10

international law is automatically part of a country’s law and does not require legislative action to be applicable

Question 11

4. Doctrine of Transformation-

Answer 11

international law must be transformed into municipal law before it can be applied within a country’s jurisdiction. This process of incorporating international law into domestic law is done through judicial lawmaking.

Question 12

3. Doctrine of effective link-

Answer 12

public international law test that determines if a legal or natural person has a close connection with their home state and can invoke that state’s nationality.

Question 13

Doctrine of national treatment or equality of treatment

Answer 13

• requires countries to treat foreigners the same as their own citizens

Question 14

5. Doctrine on state responsibility

Answer 14

• a state is liable for breaching its international obligations

Question 15

6. Drago doctrine-

Answer 15

• rejects the right of a country to use military force against another country to collect debts.

Question 16

Jus ad bellum -

Answer 16

right to war”. It’s the law that governs when states can use armed force or go to war.

Question 17

Jus in bello-

Answer 17

defines the responsibilities and conduct of neutral nations, belligerent nations, and individuals involved in armed conflict.

Question 18

22. Principle of State Consent -

Answer 18

governments are obligated to follow only those rules that they have agreed to accept

Question 19

12. Mutatis Mutandis

Answer 19

is used when comparing two or more things to say that the basic point remains the same, even though changes will be necessary to account for different situations

Question 20

1. Ex aequo et bono -

Answer 20

t’s a decisional standard that allows a tribunal to consider a dispute based on what is fair and just, rather than strictly following the rule of law. It’s also known as amiable compositeur.

Question 21

10. “Forum Prorogatum” -

Answer 21

is the establishment of jurisdiction by voluntary submission, which is necessary for the court to be effective. (agreement between partie)

Question 22

9. Compromis d’arbitrage-

Answer 22

is a special agreement between two parties that can lead to international arbitration.

Question 23

8. “Erga Omnes”-

Answer 23

refers to specifically determined obligations that states have towards the international community as a whole.

Question 24

7. Optional system of submitting to the jurisdiction of ICJ

Answer 24

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has an optional clause system that allows states to give the court jurisdiction to settle any future disputes between them.

Question 25

advisory jurisdiction of ICJ

Answer 25

• The ICJ provides non-binding opinions on legal questions at the request of United Nations organs and specialized agencies. Advisory opinions do not adjudicate a specific legal case, but instead advise on the interpretation or constitutionality of a law.

Question 26

5. Contentious jurisdiction ICJ

Answer 26

The ICJ resolves legal disputes between states in accordance with international law. Only states can bring disputes before the ICJ, and the ICJ’s decisions are binding.

Question 27

2. nulla poena sine lege-

Answer 27

one can only be punished for doing something if a penalty for this behavior is fixed in criminal law

Question 28

1. Nullem crimen sine lege-

Answer 28

states that a person shouldn’t be punished for an act unless it was criminalized by law before they committed it.

Question 29

11. Mutatis mutanda-

Answer 29

whilst it may be necessary to make some changes to take account of different situations, the main point remains the same.

Question 30

10. Hot pursuit

Answer 30

s the right of a coastal state to pursue and arrest a foreign ship that has violated its laws and regulations while sailing from its waters to the high seas

Question 31

9. High seas and six freedoms

Answer 31

freedom of navigation, fishing, the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and overflight of aircraft.

Question 32

8. Exclusive economic Zone or patrimonial sea

Answer 32

• is an area of the ocean that extends 200 nautical miles from a country’s coast, where the coastal country has jurisdiction over all resources.

Question 33

7. Right of Innocent Passage

Answer 33

that allows foreign ships to navigate through another country’s territorial waters without harming the state’s interests. This right applies to all ships, including warships, regardless of cargo, armament, or propulsion

Question 34

6. Twelve mile rule

Answer 34

• Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles,

Question 35

5. Three-mile rule-

Answer 35

rule of international law that defines a country’s territorial waters as extending three nautical miles from the low-water mark along the coast. This limit is based on custom and ancient Roman legal theory, and is often referred to as the “cannon shot” rule

Question 36

4. Cannon shot rule

Answer 36

hat states a country has territorial sovereignty over the coastal sea up to three nautical miles (nm) from its land.

Question 37

3. Res communis -

Answer 37

a thing common to all, and that could not be the subject of ownership (water/ air)

Question 38

2. Usque ad coelum -

Answer 38

refers to the idea that the owner of a piece of land also owns the air space above

Question 39

1. Terra nullius -

Answer 39

it refers to a territory that can be inhabited but does not belong to a state, and therefore is not owned by anyone.