PIL theory practice

• Public International Law (PIL)


  An independent law system, including rules which were built by agreements between subjects of PIL to govern their legal relations and to ensure the implementation by their agreements
• Purpose of Private International Law


  Choosing the law applied for specific case when it has foreign elements
• Characteristics of PIL


  • No institution (non-legislative) to establish rules of PIL
  • Only way to establish rules of PIL is agreement between States (signed international treaties/ recognised international customary)
• Objects governed by PIL


  • Legal relations between subjects of PIL
• Subjects of PIL

  • Independent states
  • Intergovernmental organisations
  • The people
• Independent state


  Permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states
• Intergovernmental Organization (IGO)


  Only subjects of PIL can be members of IGO
• Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)


  Members can be both subjects of PIL and subjects of national law
• There is no authority to apply sanctions to ensure the enforcement of the rules of PIL, so enforcement can only be ensured via agreements
• Impact of national law on PIL


  National law influences the starting point for PIL, and states with more democratic and progressive laws have more influence
• Impact of PIL on national law


  PIL impacts and influences national law, causing it to change in a more progressive direction
• Law branches of PIL system


  • Law of treaties
  • Law of the sea
  • Law on international organizations
  • Law on state's territory
  • Law on diplomatic and consular relations
  • Law on international environment
  • International civil aviation
• General Principles of PIL


  Jus cogens rules binding all subjects joining international relations
• Characteristics of General Principles of PIL

  • Highest hierarchy
  • Common, appearing in most important treaties
  • Legacy, not appearing at the same time (some old, some new)
  • Mutual relationship, applying one principle requires applying other principles
• Prohibition/refrain of the threat or use of force


  1. Use of armed force against an independent State

  2. Prepare/pressure use of armed force against another State
• Aggression


  Invasion/attack by armed force to another State
• Exceptions to prohibition of use of force


  • Self-defense (article 51 UN charter)
  • Use of force to maintain peace and international peace and security by UNSC
• Main bodies of UN


  • General Assembly
  • Security Council
  • Economic and Social Council
  • Trusteeship Council
  • Secretariat
  • International Court of Justice
• General Assembly


  Can discuss any matters except for those related to peace and security, and issue resolutions/decisions that are not binding (except those related to administrative matters)
• Security Council


  Has primary responsibility to maintain and protect peace and security, and its decisions are binding on all Members
• Veto power


  Derived from Article 27.3, requires the concurring votes of the permanent members
• North Korea has been punished/imposed 9 sanctions by the UNSC for violating the NPT by increasing nuclear power
• Use of force to counter terrorist by States


  New international customary law based on US military force in Oct 2001 after ongoing processes of armed attack by non-state terrorists
• Elements of use of force to counter terrorist


  • Armed attack by terrorist org constitutes violations of international + domestic criminal law with significant scale and effects
  • Necessity to comply with necessity requirement of self-defence: reasons to believe further attacks will be mounted + use of armed force = needed
  • Proportionality
  • Immanency of terrorist attack, measured by the extent to which the self-defence occurred during last window of opportunity
  • Purpose: defeat ongoing attack/ prevent one that is imminent
• Non-intervention in State's domestic jurisdictions

  Internal affairs = matters within domestic jurisdiction, external affairs = international affairs

  No State(s) have right to intervene, for any reason, in internal/external affairs of other
• Exceptions to non-intervention


  • Existing armed conflict/potential to lead to armed conflict (UNSC intervenes by sanction/military)
  • Existing serious violations of human rights (UNSC intervenes by sanction, military, or establishment of special criminal tribunal)
• International Criminal Court (ICC)

  Permanent court specializing in trial of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, can only convict individuals (not states) from member states
• Principle of co-operation


  Developed as counterpart to "law of coexistence", requires co-operation in maintenance of international peace and security, promotion of universal respect and observance of human rights and general freedoms, and elimination of all discrimination forms and religious intolerance
• Principle of equal rights and self-determination of people


  Peoples who have right to self-determination are those who have been placed and continued to be under external control against their will, living in colonial, apartheid, or alien's governing regimes, and are entitled to use all means to independence
• Principle of sovereignty equality of all states


  All states are judicially equal, enjoy right inherent in full sovereignty, have duty to respect personality, territorial integrity and political independence, and are free to choose and develop their system
• Principle of fulfilment in good faith the obligations


  Duty to fulfil in good faith obligations assumed by the state in accordance with the UN Charter, generally recognized principles and rules of international law, and under international agreements
• Sources of PIL


  Forms expressing the existence or containing norms of PIL, created by subjects of PIL, with no agreement among subjects of PIL identifying the sources of PIL
• already existed in past but has diff meaning in PIL
• sovereign equality


  • all states
  • equal rights and duties + r equal mems of intern community
• Content of sovereign equality


  • judicially equal
  • enjoys right inherent in full sovereignty
  • duty to respect personality
  • territorial integrity + political independence r inviolable
  • free to choose and develop system
  • duty to comply fully + in good faith international obligations + live in peace
• Fulfilment in good faith the obligations

  oldest principle
• obligations under UN charter prevails
• SOURCES OF PILE


  forms expressing the existence/ containing norms of PIL, created by subjects of PIL
• no agreement among subjects of PIL identifying the sources of PIL
• identified by ICJ Art 38.1 5 sources