Principles of International Law

The Importance of Treaties

Diplomatic Relations

• Diplomatic: of or concerning the profession, activity, or skill of managing international relations.
• A representative helps to establish relations between two or more countries.
• For Example:
• Russian diplomat, representing Russia, at the Russian embassy in Canada, to develop a relation with the Canadian government
• Diplomatic Relations: is the management of relationships and dealings between two countries.
• For Example:
• Canada and US maintaining a up-to-date and controlled relationship, with their boundaries, refugees, exchanges, etc.

• The rules applying to diplomats were codified in the 1916 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
• Another element would be other rules that are taken into account, based on the growth of international organizations and missions (diplomatic bodies).
• 1916 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations: is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries.
• It specifies the privileges of a diplomatic mission
• That allows diplomats to perform their function without fear of harassment by the host country.
• This forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity

Diplomatic Immunity

• Diplomatic Immunity: is a rule expressed in the Vienna Convention, that is the "person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable"
• It means that diplomats are entitled to protection from physical harm and are not subject to any imprisonment or suspension of liberty, keeping in mind the rules of the international protocol set down by the Vienna Convention

Diplomatic Asylum

• Diplomatic Asylum: is protection sought in embassies of other countries by individuals fearing for their safety.
• Some asylum is willingly given and respected.
• Asylum is highly developed Latin America
• Where states have attempted to clarify the rules by agreeing to the Convention on Diplomatic Asylum.

The Development of International Law

• a valid and effective tool for shaping relations among states, between the government and their peoples

Narrow domain of early International law was restricted to

Difference between International and Domestic law

Opening Activity

Domestic Law

With the country you have received, you have 5 minutes to find the following:

• Typically composed of
• a mechanism that creates binding rules
• a judicial system
• an enforcement system

• Nations are encouraged or persuaded to obey International Law
• serve the member nations' individual and community interests

1. Biggest trading partner

2. Largest export

3. Position economically (ranking)

4. Position environmentally (ranking)

5. Last multilateral treaty signed

6. Last (or current) war they are a part of

Example

Alberico Gentili, 16th century Italian

• "Piracy is contrary to the law of nations and the league of human society. Therefore war should be made against pirates by all men"

• "enemies of human kind"

• therefore subject to "universal jurisdiction

*write it on the cue card

Introduction of International Law

Difference between International and Domestic law

• Is a mass of agreements among nations that decide to be parties to these agreements

Main functions

• govern relations among sovereign states
• Smooths process of state interaction by

International Law

Canada’s Arctic and State Sovereignty

• does not exist within a formal justice system
• no International Legislature passing laws like Parliament
• depends on a state's voluntarily agreeing to be subject to particular rules
• i.e. treaty-based: a state must sign and ratify a treaty before it will be bound

• it is a matter of state sovereignty and who should govern the Arctic
• Important in terms of resources, security of the country and political standpoint
• Many countries want sovereignty of the Arctic (the US, Russia, several European countries

Issues

• it is difficult to govern many islands in the Arctic in order to declare sovereignty/ control
• without the control, Canada is losing greatly in terms of a political and economical standpoint
• the promises of Ottawa such as the $500 million icebreakers and 10 nuclear attack submarines
• other countries have easy access to the Arctic.

ex: the US in 1985 when the Canadian government found a US coast guard icebreaker.

International Law in Everyday Life

• Affects individuals and society, and touches on nearly all aspects of daily life.
• For example, a drive to Wal-Mart for a CD by a british band
• Wal-Mart, a US corporation, to invest in Canada is regulated by general international rules
• Many CDs sold are manufactured in Asia or South America
• The shipping of the CDs (by sea or air)
• The copyright of the owner lyrics
• The content, the format, and the conditions of the manufacture of the CD

Regulating the International

Impact of Domestic Law

• International law tries to regulate situations in which
• activities in one state infringe on the sovereignty of another state
• cause damage to its territory, interests, or citizens

Consular Relations

• Vienna Convention on Consular Relations: of 1963 is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent countries
• A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country, and performs two functions
• 1. Protecting the interests of their country in the host country.
• 2. Furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two countries.
• A consul is not a diplomat
• they work out of the same premises
• they have the most of the same privileges as a diplomat
• For Example, diplomatic immunity for them is called consular immunity.

State Sovereignty

State sovereignty: the lawful control by a state over its territory, right to govern in that territory, and authority to apply law there to the exclusion of other states.

• a state could exclude assertions of jurisdiction by other states in its territory or with respect to other rights that it enjoyed under international law

• International law was seen as a guarantor

• Idea of exclusive jurisdiction solidified from the 17th through 19th century
• End of 20th century
• almost all land areas of the world were under sovereignty of the states

Controlling Activities with Cross-Border Impacts

The Trail Smelter case of 1937

• metal- processing plant in Trail, British Columbia
• constantly released fumes that crossed the border
• damaged apple orchards in the state of Washington
• United States brought a claim on behalf of the apple farmers against Canada
• required Canada to pay damages and to take steps to prevent the fumes

Under the principles of international law,...no state has the right to use or permit the use of its territory in such a manner as to cause injury by fumes in or to the territory of another or the properties of persons therein...

Basic Treaty-Law Principles

• serves the same functions on the international level that legislation serves within countries
• through customary law
• can be bilateral or multilateral
• cover almost all sections of human activity
• the law of treaties is complex

The Two Treaties

Issues Covered by Treaties

• 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
• 1986 Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between Organizations
• Both codified the main rules of the treaty formation, application and enforcement

• Air traffic control
• Extradition
• Environmental cleanups
• Refugees
• Postal services
• Development of new technologies

ex: Section V of the 1969 Convention outlines the circumstances where a treaty can be invalid, terminated or suspended. Like corruption of a representative.

Negotiations

• must follow the guideline set after by the Vienna Convention
• A resolution set by the UN states that "[t]he purpose and object of all negotiations must be fully compatible with the principles and norms of international law, including provisions of the Charter"

Extraterritorial Legislation

ex: When dealing with "peace treaties", the superior country mus still follow the conditions of the Conventions and the guidelines set.

Signings, Ratification and Reservations

Signing: a formal process that indicates the general agreement between the parties (in text)

Ratification: following the government's review of the agreement (made by the ambassadors)

Reservations: written following ratification that modifies a party's obligation

ex: the process of Ratification between Canada and the USA. (the Kyoto Protocol)

Implementation

• refers to how the treaty is enforced domestically
• the implementation is conditional based on the content of the treay

ex: boundary treaties vs. those that require new legislation

• law of the land vs. normal divisions of powers
• Canada's system of implementation however can cause many problems if provinces did not agree with the treaty

ex: the Kyoto Protocol against the provincial powers of Ontario and Alberta

• Led to the "federal state clause" that effected the province's treaty obligations

• Legislation passed by a state that affects citizens in other states
• Protection of state sovereignty

Nationalize: take over an industry, service, or land from private ownership on behalf of the state

• International law governs nationalization

• countries feel that their investments in other countries should not be subject to nationalization without compensation

• developing countries that have nationalized such investments often argue that nationalization is fair and necessary to achieve a just society
• "Investments"
• by nationals of richer countries
• secured by kickbacks to corrupt politicians
• are repaid many times over by excessive profits

Solving Treaty Disputes

• can be by the International Court of Justice or more specific solutions
• As codified by the Vienna Convention:

1. the meaning that parties intended during the negotiation of the treaty

2. actual practice in the application of the treaty.

• Can also be resolved by amending processes or institutional mechanisms (ex: Conference of Parties because of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
• Not the same for those before 1945

Dispute Resolution Activity

In groups of two solve the following problem between your countries (from the cards):

One country is trying to take an initiative to lower emissions of gas in the atmosphere. They want another country to lower their emissions by at least half by the end of 2020. Country two thinks its unreasonable.

You have 5 minutes. Find a resolution.

*hint* check page 484 in the textbook

Principles of International Law

by: Sydney , Khevna and Hanshah

Bibliography

• Zemanek, Karl. "United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law." United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law. Audiovisual Library of International Law. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
• Zemanek, Karl. "Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations - Main Page." Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations - Main Page. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.