Do international laws have any force or is there any enforcement power?

If you break international law

are there any consequences?

Article 2
4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with
the Purposes of the United Nations.
Examples
Russia taking over of Crimea is a clear violation of international law and this is a clear violation of
international law. Compare what the Athenians did to the melians with what the Russians did to the
crimeans.

Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an
armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken
measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the
exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not
in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to
take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace
and security.
Examples
Israel Gaza situation. Proportionality.
What is international law?
International law exists for peace and to prevent wars and people from dieing in armed conflict.
International law is the way nations deal with each other. Definition of the nation state. The treaty of
Westphalia generally people are citizens of a country and must be is almost a fundamental right to be a
citizen of some nation state.
Filtariga case is that human beings have rights that transcend national sovereignty. Nations cannot do
whatever they want to their people. Even if a country allowed slavery international law would make the
law illegal. There are only 5 human rights. Freedom from slavery, torture, freedom from genocide,
How do you know if something is international law?
We started off class today asking what is international law? Chung differentiated international law which
is the way nations deal wi
International law Article 38 creates a hierarchy of international law
-Principle concepts of law like human rights-
Treaties only bind the parties that have signed the treaty. Can be sighted as customary international
law for parties who are not part of the treaty. These are like contracts between countries. Treaties
cannot include provisions that override universal concepts of international law and human rights like
Genocide or slavery.
Customary International Law
General principles of law
People that know stuff ie. Law professors

Municipal Law - is the local law of the country/area
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928):

Hard power v. Soft power Hard power is fighter Jets dropping bombs on someone. The world cannot
use hard power on Russia and has to use soft power like economic sanctions. The only country in the
world that can exercise hard power is the American military. Sometimes using soft power like in the
Ukraine conflict can lead to consequences that hurt the countries imposing the sanctions more then
Russia who is facing the consequences. Hard power assets may be used in a symbolic way and in a soft
power way.
Things to be considered when using Hard Power
Public opinion
Consequences
Allies
Economic consequences
Next class soft power used to perform international law.
Hard Power: Can create and enforce international law. Bombing of Serbia was used to enforce
international law. To expel Iraq from Kuwait. These have usually been U.S. this is unreliable because we
do not know if the U.S. will do anything.
Soft Power: Used to create and enforce international law. This is talking and persuasion which can
change behavior and positions. The Campaign against land mines in early 90s, through grassroots
organizations international laws were created to ban the use of land mines. Soft power was used to
create international law for the apartheid (blacks could not hold certain jobs and could not be educated-
>sueto townsip) soft power was used to eject south Africa from UN and banned from the Olympics.
South Africa also abandoned their nuclear weapons. Soft power was applied over a decade which
caused the south Africans to give up and the cost of apartheid was too much for them to bare. This
forced them honor international law.
This is important for us as students is that to make change we need to be aware of the different levers
that can be used to make a country make a change in their policy or law. This a long strategy to change
public opinion and get the attention to put pressure on someone to make a change. 5 year campaign
against land mines is relatively quick and apartheid took around 20 years. Fundraising is crucial to the
work.
5 admitted nuclear weapon states U.S.; France; Russia; Britain; Germany
Not Admitted: India; Pakistan; Israel; China;
Eastern Airlines, Inc. V. Floyd
ImportanceofthesecaseistoshowhowthesupremecourtsanalysisofthecaseisexactlythesameasanyotherU
Scaseexcepttheyareinterpretingthecaseusingsourcesthatarelessfamiliar.Thegenocidecasedoesnotusestri
cttextualinterpretationinsteaditismoresoftfactorsandtalksaboutidealism
etc.Casesareanexampleofhowyouneedtothinkaboutthetreatytheycaneitherbeverytextualoridealismtreat
ieswhicharenotstricttextual.Inthemoreidealistictreatiesnationswouldmorelikelybeabletomake
reservationsandacceptonlypiecesthatworkforthem.
Treaties: Vienna convention United states is not a party to the convention but the US looks to it an it is
the standard of international treaties. Treaties can be broken up into different categories.
The Cession of Alaska is like a real estate contract and the language is definite. The Kellogg Briand Pact is
a wish list and the language is unrealistly ideal. The cession of Alaska is a one and done sales transaction,
whereas the Kellog Briand Pact is indefinite.
Genocide Reservations In Treaties When a multi lateral treaty is entered into states have the right to
make treat provisions. Treaties can determine
intheirlanguagewhatreservationsareacceptableandwhatisnottheicjsays
thatagneralruelsaysthatreservationsareacceptableaslongastheyarecompatiblewiththeobjectandthepurp
oseoftheconvention.Basicallyaslongasyoucancomeupwithsomesortofreasoningforyourreservationitwillb
eokay.ReservationthatwouldclearynotbecompatiablewouldbeifIragandturkeymakereservationsthatgeno
cideshouldbeillegalacceptagainstkurds. Theywouldsaythisisdirectlyconflictingwiththetreaty.
Ifyoumakearesrvationthatyouagreewithtreatybutdonotagreetojurisdictiontointernationalcourtthiswould
probablybeokaybecausetheystillplanondoingeverythingelsethatislistedinthetreaty.Statedepartmentwoul
darguethattheyarefolowingeverythinginthetreatyandtheUScourtareadequate.Usagreeswiththesubstanc
eofthetreatyandisthereserverationisaddressedtoaproceduralmatter.
WhywouldtheUSwantreservationofhavingjurisdictioninUS?BecausetheUSlegalsystemisfreefromcorruptoi
onanditisfair,impartialfreeofcorruptionandpoliticalinfluence.
In the News: 9/2/14
Government of Ukraine has said that Russia has invaded Ukraine. As long as Putin can create doubt an
uncertainty then nobody can create decisive action against Putin. Compared the invasion of Ukraine by
Russia and the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. Decisive action by UN and 100+ countries against Iraq, but
with Russia there has been no response. The difference is that Russia has nuclear weapons. There are
similarities of what Putin is saying to what Hitler was saying leading up to WW2. There appears to be no
fear of war in Europe because European stock market is not in panic mode.

Customary International Law
Look at the objective actions of nations (What do countries do?)
Are the countries doing this thing because they subjectively believe they have do this because of
international law obligations.
Example: Rolling out a red carpet -> Countries are objectively doing this, but subjectively they are not
doing this out of international law. Instead it is likely just done out of etiquette.
Diplomatic Immunity: Ambassador may not be interfered with by the host country. All countries observe
this and they do this because they subjectively believe they have the obligation to do so..
Slavery: Was also party of international customary law.
Technological advances often lead to new international law, like the invention of the airplane and
creating airspace laws.
Relationship to treaty law: Long used customary international law often becomes treaty law.
How/why does customary international law get created: It is theorized that diplomatic law was created
as a one off deal for a diplomat and then it eventually became adopted by everyone and then to the
point where nations felt they were legally required. Mutually beneficial for everyone. Powerful nations
from Rome to the United States in history have been creating international customary law. All countries
do not have an equal role in creating international customary law and then the weaker nations acques.

Is older than treaties.
The United States have rejected the customary international law principle of the death penalty, this can
do this because they are a strong nation. They are not bound by it because they are persistent objectors.

The Paquete Habana
That coastal fishing vessel are immune from warring parties. They were seized and sold as war prizes by
the U.S. These were privateers under the U.S. and the fishing boats were coastal fishing boats from
Cuba.
Purposes of the case:
International law is our law
Lays out the judicial process of how customary international law should be layed out and analyzed. It
goes back and cites example of bilateral treaties. Look at examples from history of the customary
practice.

Asylum Case (Columbia v. Peru) is there a customary international law in a region.


--U.S. Bombing Syria--
Self defense every country has the right to engage in self-defense. Use of force for Humanitarian
Assistance (new doctrine and not nec. Customary international law. Say that the government of Syria is
in civil war that they cannot control ISIS so the US will take care of this on their own.
Putin would use this argument that they are attacking Ukraine because their Russian brotheran are
being attacked from this facist attack. That Putin would say these are for humanitarian reasons.
--Law of the sea--
Every ship sailing on high seas must sail with a flag. Do not have to fly a flag that you have anything to do
with it Theoretically the laws of the flag apply to the ship.
Lotus
International is what states agree to as an exercise or expression of the freewill of nations. However
international law is not just what countries agree to because there are some laws that are so universal
like torture or genocide that it doesnt matter if a nation does not sign the treaty or agree it is still
against international law. The problem is that conflicts with natural law and Jus Cogens.

9/16/14 Started class talking about Scotlands vote to become a nation state.
Law of nations transcends
Lotus compared to Smith
Lotus was the high water mark that international law is what nations agree to, whereas Smith used
common law of the civilzed world.
Furundzija That is in 2014 Rape is not a jus cogens common international law so it is not on the list of
torture. So there is not much that can be done at this time when we hear about ISIS putting women into
brothels and marrying young teenagers to isis fighters. Uzidis
Ware v. Hylton 1796- provided that creditors on both sides should meet no lawful impediment when
recovering bona fide debts, took precedence overruled a Virginia law passed during the American
Revolution which had nullified such debts. and overruled a Virginia law passed during the American
Revolution which had nullified such debts.

Foster & Elam v. Neilson
Non self executing treaty further act must be done by congress.