Treaties Flashcards
(14 cards)
treaties can do pretty much anything EXCEPT authorize the violation of a peremptory norm
Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
UN Resolution 2625
1970 - Declaration on Principles of International Law
- wars of aggression are crime against peace
- states must not use / threaten to use force violating existing borders nor to solve int’l disputes
- states must have a duty to refrain from reprisals (revenge) involving use of force
- states must not use force to deprive people of self-determination and independence
- states must not help or encourage civil strife, terrorism or armed bands located in other states’ territories
UN Charter Art 24
members confer on the UNSC primary responsibility for the maintenance of int’l peace and security, and agree that in carrying out this responsibility, the UNSC acts on their behalf
UN Charter art 42
(Chapter VII)
should the UNSC consider that measures provided for in art 41 (peaceful) are inadequate to maintain/restore int’l peace and security, it may take such action by air, sea or land forces, including demonstrations and blockades, of members of the UN
UN Charter art 51
nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the UN,
until the UNSC has taken measures necessary to maintain int’l peace and security
measures taken by members in the exercise of this right shall be reported to the UNSC immediately
Art 31 ICJ Statute
provides that if a party in a case has no judge of its nationality, it can appoint an ad hoc judge for that case only, who can be of any nationality
1960 UN declaration reg decolonization
1960: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 (Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples)
subject-matter jurisdiction ICC
articles 5-8 Rome Statute
- genocide
- crimes against humanity
- war crimes
- crimes of aggression (as of 2018)
!!!! in addition: art 70: offences against the administration of justice
lot of the Hague Conventions are
expired
- IV, 1, of 1899 = on Aerial Bombardment
super-seded
- IV, 2 of 1899 = on Toxic Gas
most important (core of IHL) =
- II (1899) Convention on the law and custom of war on land
Rome Statute art 70
offences against the administration of justice
(additional subject-matter jurisdiction ICC)
103 UN Charter
obligations under the Charter prevail over obligations of other treaties
art 33 Rome Statute
= superior orders
(the nuremberg defence)
having been ordered by a superior officer to commit a criminal act is no defence unless:
- The person was under a legal obligation to obey
- The person did not know that the order was unlawful
- The order was not manifestly (obviously) unlawful
- Orders to commit genocide/crimes against humanity are always unlawful
If these 4 criteria are fulfilled, you can use this defence (to protect lower soldiers for things they couldn’t do anything about (mostly war crimes))
art 30 Rome Statute
= mental element (mens rea)
“a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court only if the material elements are committed with intent and knowledge.”
- i.e. need to have intended to commit an act + must have known (or should have reasonably known) of the consequences
Genocide Convention
1948
The commission of any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group
a) Killing members of the group
b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
