Individuals’ Legal Personality Pursuant to International Law
International law has generally been accepted and respected by the States to be the fundamental element in ensuring peace and diplomacy when dealing with matters concerning international relations. It should be noted that, within international law, there are various subjects who are considered to have international legal personality, to wit: States, international organizations, dependent territories, belligerent groups, multinational enterprises, non-governmental organizations, and individuals (Walter, 2007). However, the rights and obligations of these referenced subjects were considered and developed as international law itself evolved. More specifically, the international rights, duties, and obligations of individuals as subjects of international law were not effectively established until after the 20th century.
International Law
In order to be able to properly understand the individuals’ role, legal personality, and status within international law, it would be beneficial to first understand the meaning
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144). Therefore, under traditional law, an individual’s legal status in international law is best “reflected in the advisory opinion of the Permanent Court of International Justice… which stated in 1928 with respect to a treaty between Germany and Poland, that this treaty, ‘being an international agreement, cannot as such create direct rights and obligations for private individuals’….” (Walter,
Human Rights in international law have been an immense issue for long period of time and continues to be. International human rights began to come to question, from the way soldiers and civilians were treated in times of war. International human rights involving war issues then extended to consist of other rights. When colonialism broadened it brought problems with minorities, which led to questioning human rights. Then in western regions in the world the increase debate about women’s statu...
This issue of Universal Jurisdiction has been a highly contested issue since its beginnings. Universal Jurisdiction allows any state to prosecute an individual who is believed to have committed a crime that is believed to jeopardize the international world order. When used appropriately universal jurisdiction is a very useful tool in the international system, however, its alleged abuses have caused individuals to question its validity. Currently the issue of Universal Jurisdiction is under debate in the General Assembly. The outcome of this debate will undoubtedly have an impact on the international system.
According to Article 38 of the 1946 Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Court shall apply “international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law” in its decisions (Kritsiotis 123). In other words, the International Court of Justice cites customs as a formal source of law. According to Roberto Unger, author of Law in a Modern Society, customary international law is best defined as “any recurring mode of interaction among individuals and groups, together with the more or less explicit acknowledgement of these groups and individuals that such patterns of interaction produce reciprocal expectations of conduct that out to be satisfied (Shaw 72-73). In other words, customary international laws are primarily concerned with how and why sates behave in a particular manner. Customs derive from the behavior of states (state practice) and the subconscious belief that a behavior is inherently legal (opinio juris). Evidence of state behavior is documented in the decisions of domestic courts, international courts, and international organizations. Unlike treaty law, customary laws are binding on all states. Additionally, if a treaty derives from a custom it is also binding on all states. Some of the international court cases that have been instrumental in the development of customary international law include the Nicaragua v. United States case, the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case, the Scotia case, the Asylum case, the Paquete Habana case, and the Lotus case.
...minga, M. T. (2013). International Law. In J. Hage, & B. Akkermans, Introduction to Law (pp. 349-360). Maastricht: Maastricht University Faculty of Law.
International Ethics are normative in nature, i.e. what should happen in the international system based on moral constructs and political theory. What a lot of traditions in international ethics attempt to do is provide a perspective of th...
Teubner, G. (1997) Global Bukowina. Legal Pluralism in the World Society. In: Teubner, G., ed. Global Law Without a State. Aldershot: Ashgate/Dartmouth Publishers.
International organizations usually regulated by treaty, help to create international law. Matters concerning dispute resolution must be agreed upon as companies seek to do business together. The manner by which laws are applicable should be recognized and agreed upon before disputes arise. ...
The ICTY Appeals Chamber’s decision has certainly developed and refined international humanitarian law and international criminal law. The legal findings of the chamber are sound interpretations of existing laws, which are important issues and need to be properly clarified. The resultant redefinition of the concept of protected persons contra legem and the blurring of the distinction between international and non-international armed conflicts are well meant. The Court’s affirmation that the responsibility of the perpetrators or participants in international crime closes the gaps in criminal responsibility and relates to an important moral imperative.
Throughout centuries we as a society have always had an unhealthy devotion to law, whether it be how it has been brought out, what is seen as being applicable as law, and how it provides a broad understanding of the law and kinship that is required to fully understand the different concepts and rituals that law provides. Many different sociologists and anthropologist have developed their own theories regarding how law is defined to them and more importantly how it’s power is distributed towards other members of society. The contribution of sociologist and anthropologist to the formation of law can help trace the development of international human rights law from a perspective of the development in meaning and scope of international norms. Three
For an obligation to be legally binding, the sovereign States must have either accepted it or taken part in the process of developing it. Except from the fundamental principles of the international legal order, inherent in the existence of the State, and the norms of jus cogens, no legal rule is universal in scope. Most rules of international law are only authoritative for those subjects that have accepted them. For instance, the principle of sovereign consent of States is the basis of the delegations of powers that occur in the international order, it is constructed on the idea that international laws that bind States “emanate from their own free will as expressed in conventions or by usages generally accepted as expressing principles of law.” This principle, though established in 1927, is still a central standard of international law today. Explicit consent is required in the international agreements that States enter when granting some powers to an international institution, though the specific requirements of ratification might be left to the decision of the domestic authorities. Beyond the required initial consent of international delegations, it is frequent for such delegations to be of conditional nature. States retain the power to revoke authority after it has been granted. Because they are subjected by the decisions of international bodies only so long as they agree to be, States remain free from external control. Since international transfers of authority exist only when national law-making entities say they do, they are not contrary to domestic sovereignty but are instead the expression of this
Many controversies have arisen nowadays as to whether international law is “natural law”, international law now faces considerable criticism as to its effectiveness as law and doubts as to its actual existence, and its power to bind countries .
Traditionally, international law consisted of rules and principles governing the relations and dealings of nations with each other, though recently, the scope of international law has been redefined to include relations between states and i...
Previously, diplomatic law was parallel to customary law. However, early codifications of diplomatic law include the British Diplomatic Privileges Act 1708 (Hardy, 1968) A treaty which was in consideration of diplomatic law is the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This treaty focused on the functional necessity of diplomatic privileges and immunities for the efficient conduct of international relations and the character of the diplomatic mission as representing its state. (Maginnis, 2002) As diplomatic relations exist ...
By definition, international law is “a body of rules which binds states and other agents in world politics in their relations with one another and is considered to have the status of law.”
Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the discourse of international human rights and its importance has increasingly become indoctrinated in the international community. In the context of political and economic development, there have been debates on how and which rights should be ordered and protected throughout different cultures and communities. Though there is a general acceptance of international human rights around the globe, there is an approach that divides them into civil and political rights and social and economic rights, which puts emphasis where it need not be.