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Two Questions
What is international law?Does such a thing really exist?
How is international law enforced?Isn’t it really just a matter of power politics?
Defining International Law
Traditional: the rules determining the conduct of states in their dealings with one other
Increasingly, though, individuals and corporations – not just states – viewed as subjects of international law
Newer: the body of rules and principles, formal and informal, operating at the international rather than national level
Sources of International LawExplicit agreements (Treaties, conventions, protocols)
UN CharterGeneva ConventionKyoto Protocol
Customary Law (like “common law”)Widespread, representative and consistent practice of states
Norms (general principles of morality and justice) UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
War
When is it legal?“just wars” versus wars of aggression
What conduct is legal?No chemical or biological weapons; no land minesNon-combatants should not be targetedExcessive force should be avoidedPOWs
Human RightsNew and controversial area
How do you define it?Infringes on national sovereignty
Broad political rightsHelsinki Accords (1970s)U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)U.N. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
U.N. Convention Against Torture (1984)Rights of threatened groups
U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1965)U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women/CEDAW (1979)U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
Genocide (1948 convention)RwandaBosniaSudan?
U.S. and Human RightsChampion?
Led campaign for rights in Soviet Union, then ChinaHypocrite?
U.S. trained torturers during Cold War; and used torture at Guantanamo and in IraqTargets counter that U.S. itself has largest number of prisoners; a vast population of poor and homeless; persistent racism U.S. hasn’t ratified many human rights conventions
• Economic, social and cultural rights• Elimination of discrimination against women• Rights of child
Superpower Exceptionalism
Not just on human rights conventions
U.S. also has not ratifiedILO conventions on labor rights (1950s)
CTBT
Convention on the Law of the Seas
Land Mine treaty
Global Warming (Kyoto) protocol
ICJ = World Court
A branch of the UNmeets in The Hague (Netherlands)
15 judgesserving nine-year termsselected by UN
Hears cases brought by states against other statesExample: border disputes (Honduras v. El Salvador)
Jurisdiction? ShakyU.S. and mining of Nicaragua’s harbor (1986)
Option #2National Courts
U.S. courtsIndividuals can play, too
High jury awards
Greater enforcement power
Belgian courtsHuman rights cases (Geneva conventions)
Spanish courts (Judge Baltasar Garzón)The Pinochet case
Option #3The Court of Public Opinion
This is also called “shaming”NGOs
International media
And it often works!
Realists are Right
The powerful prevailEspecially on security issues
Example: International Criminal CourtNew permanent court (2003) in The Hague
18 judges
Will replace ad hoc war crimes tribunals, hearing cases brought against individuals for crimes against humanity
U.S. won’t participate
U.S. and the ICC
U.S. secured U.N. resolution exempting U.S. nationals from ICC jurisdiction for crimes committed during UN operationsU.S. demanded that other states enter into bilateral agreements promising not to surrender U.S. nationals to the ICCClinton signed treaty on 12/31/2000; Bush took unusual step of “unsigning” on 3/6/2002
Then again …maybe the Liberals are right
To back out of the ICC, GWB actually followed another international treaty
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties requires signatories to “refrain from acts that would defeat the object and purpose” of a treaty.
Bush’s “unsigning” (by announcing U.S. intent not to ratify) cleared the U.S. from the obligations of the Vienna Convention