ETHIOPIAN CIVIL SERVICE UNIVERSITY

Institute of Leadership and Good Governance

Masters Degree Program

International Relations and

Globalization
Chapter-5
International Law and
International organizations
Presenter/ facilitator

Mebrahtu Woldu
E-mail:mebrahtuehrc@gmail.com

December 5, 2015

Mebrahtu Woldu

The IRs, ILs, IOs

Brainstorming session
The International Communities have been
exercising IRs, ILs, IOs for a long period
of time. But why? Why do the
International Communities need to have
IRs, ILs, IOs?
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The IRs, ILs, IOs

The International Community

needs IRs, ILs, IOs: to have International Relations, because no

sovereign state is self-sufficient, independent

that can exists alone without the others.
Hence, sovereign states need to have
interactions and relations among each others
in the international arena.

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The IRs, ILs, IOs

to have International Laws, because

all the relationships and interaction

among the sovereign states must be
governed by laws like agreements,
declarations. .
to have International Organizations,
because ILs must be practiced in an
organized and coordinated ways by
responsible bodies.
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5.1. International Law(IL):Major topics under this sub-topic are the

followings.
Essence/meaning of IL
Nature and source of IL
Relationship between DL and IL
Subjects of IL
International protection of human rights
State recognition and state succession
State responsibility.
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5.1.1. What is International

Law?

It is usual practice to start any conceptual

discussion by providing definition for the
concept.
But, it is difficult to have commonly agreed
definition of international law because:1. IL has been growing with the growth of the
human
societies and nation states mainly in
Europe.
2. Different philosophers and scholars define IL in
varies ways based on their own perspectives.
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.what is IL?
For the purpose of general understanding of the IL, it is

necessary to look at the following definitions put forward by

some philosophers and jurists.

1. Fenwick:- defined IL as the body of general principles

and specific rules which are binding upon
the members of international community in
their mutual relations.

2. Lawrence:- defined IL as rules which determine

the conducts of civilized states in their
mutual dealings.

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.what is IL?
3. Oppenheim:-

considered IL as a body of customary

rules and treaties which are

legally
binding by civilized states in
their
intercourse with each other.

4. Hall :-

explained IL as certain rules of conduct

which
civilized states regard as being binding on
them
in their relations with one another.
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.what is IL?
5. Broadly put, International law is a body of:- legal rules, principles and accepted customary
practices to be concluded by : sovereign states mainly
international organizations and
individuals to: govern their relationships and
interactions
with each other in the international arena .

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5.1.2. Schools of though

in ILs
International Law has been classified into

two major schools of thought known as

naturalism and positivism.

1. Naturalism
This school of thought considers natural law as

the main basis of IL and responsible for its

development.
The school identified IL with Natural Law by ignoring
treaties, custom of the states.

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..Schools of
International Law
According to naturalists:- sates need to interact each other on the basis of:-

loving each other

good faith
- sates need to interact each other for the purpose of: peace
harmony
brotherhood
This is to be based on the nature quality of human being

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..Schools of
International Law
2. Positivism
This school of thought gives more

emphasis:- to the customs and practices of States

- to the consents of the states as basis for IL
Positivists believe that development of IL
depend:- not on natural law
- not on abstract natural order
Q) Which school of thought do you support? Why?
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5.1.3.
Is
international
law
been a subject of debate among scholars for a long
There are two groups debating on the
aperiod
realof time.
law?
The question whether IL is law in the true sense, has

question with two views.

The first Group view

1. Sovereign law making body with Points of
justification

Austin, for him: law proper has been defined as a rule of conduct
issued, imposed and enforced by the sovereign
body.
if there is no sovereign body to make it, IL is a code
of rules of conduct and moral or ethical validities only.
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Is international a
real law?
Hobbes: had similar views regarding the
nature/meaning of IL.

defined law as the command of the

sovereign who have coercive power.
Since IL is not command of the superior or
sovereign backed with force for its effective
enforcement, it is not law in the true sense of
the term.

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Is international a real
law?
Holland: was of the opinion that IL differed from ordinary law
as it was not supported by the authority of the state.
Bentham: did not give International Law a status of a true law
based on similar justifications.

Second Group View

there are scholars like Hall and Lawrence who

maintain
that International Law is a true law.
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.Is international a real

law?
These group argued that IL is habitually

treated and enforced as law and like certain

kinds of positive law it is also derived from
custom.
It has been shown that in many communities
a system of law was enforced and observed
without a formal legislative authority, but
being bound by their own customary law.

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..Is international a real

law?
This group of international scholars argue that:-

international law did not differ in its binding

operation from the domestic law of any state which
is made by a true legislative authority.
custom is important in which not only majority of
the people but also the sovereign cannot violate.
From the above discussions made by different
scholars, one can understand that customary laws
and practices, though they may not made by
sovereign authority, are more respected and
powerful.
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Is international
a real law?
2. Application of International Law

First group View

There are some scholars who argue that

International Law is not true law, because of

its applicability.
For this group, IL cannot be applicable
because it lacks sanction and enforcement
machineries or mechanisms.

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.Is international a real

law?
Second group view
There are some scholars who argue against

those
who argue IL cannot be applied.
For members of this group: the International Court of Justice applies
international rules and tries to settle disputes
among the states.
the issue of sanctions in international relations
has been taking shape institutionally in the U.N.
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Is international a real
law?
International customs and treaties have

given rise to a body with well settled

principles which regulate the activities
of the states in their mutual relations
in the same way as the law of a country
limits the activities of its citizens.
But obviously international law cannot be

as effective as the states or domestic

law.
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Is international a real
law?
3.

Violation of International Law

First group view

there are some scholars who argue that IL is not a true

law because it is being violated by the powerful states.

Second

group view

there are scholars who argue against the above view. For

this group, it is impossible to conclude that International law

is not true law for it is being violated.
they argue that international law is being violate, so also is
the domestic law.
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Is international a
real law?
Violation of law has nothing to do with

being a true law or not a true law. Violation

of law is directly related to the nature and
behavior of the actors/wrong doers.
Violation of IL happens frequent during

war. But the offenders always try to prove

that their acts do not constitute a violation
of IL.
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Is international a
real law?
4. Binding force of IL
First group view
there are scholars who have the position that IL is

not true law for it lacks binding force. States are

left free to choose to be abided or not to be
abided.
Second view
there are scholars who have the position that IL is

a true law for it does not lack binding force.

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..Is international a
real
law?
According to this group, IL acquires its binding
effect from the fact that States give :* express consent for treaties and conventions
provided for specific rules of conduct.
* implied consent of the states for great body
of
general principles and specific rules that had
come to form that body of customary law.

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..Is international a real

law?
This group argue that consent of the states is considered

to be very strong basis for the sanction behind IL.

This group is in favor of the principle of pacta sunt
servanda, which means that the principles of the treaties
must be obeyed.
further more, they argue that IL must be taken to be
binding because it is a law, not because states find it to
their convenience to observe it

NB:- law is the only alternative to anarchy and that

has
provided justification for the existence of IL
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5.1.4. The aims and purposes of IL

International Law has the following
major aims and purposes. These are:1. to resolve problems which have

regional or global nature and scope

2. to regulate areas outside the control of
any one nation such as outer space or
the high seas
3. to adopt common rules for multinational
services/activities such as air transport,
postal service.
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.the aims and purposes

of IL
4. to maintain peaceful IRs and resolve
international tensions peacefully
when they occur and develop,
5. to prevent needless suffering of
human beings during wars, and
6. to improve the human condition
during peacetime.

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5.1.5. Origin and evolution of IL

In the ancient times, the need for rules of

conduct among independent political entities

developed along with government.
Early
civilizations
established
rules
governing the conduct of:- hostilities,
- making of treaties,
- treatment of foreign, traders and
missionaries.

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Origin and evolution of IL

* These rules were basically based on:- rituals
- customs
- social norms.. of the society at that time.
* The empires of the ancient Middle East
concluded a number of treaties concerning
topics still debated today such as the:- extradition of fugitives and
- creation of military alliances.

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Origin and evolution of IL

Jewish

law, as set forth in the

Testament, contains prescriptions for:-

Old

- the mitigation of warfare

- the avoidance of warfare
The Greek city-states had an elaborated treaty

system governing many aspects of their:-

- mutual relations
- common interests
In Asia, ancient India and China:-

- developed and applied rules to regulate their

r/ships
- such rules had contributed to the
international law.
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Origin and evolution of IL

The Roman Republic:- developed the idea of jus gentium, a body of
law designed to govern the relations between
Roman citizens and non-citizens.

recognized the duty of a nation to refrain

from
engaging in warfare without a just cause.
-

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Origin and evolution of IL

The development of Modern IL

IL developed with the rise of the basic ideas of:- national territory
- state sovereignty and
- jurisdiction started to be established.
In 1625, based on the work of previous legal

writers, the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius published

his
celebrated treatise De Jure Belli ac Pacis (which
means On the Law of War and Peace).

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..Origin and evolution of

IL
Grotius

argued existing Customs that

regulat the relations between nations:- had the force of law
- were binding unless contrary to natural law
- were governing all human activities and
conducts.

His

ideas became the cornerstone of the

international system as established by the
Treaty of Westphalia (1648),

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..Origin and evolution of

Westphalia
Peace Treaty, in
IL
1648:- ended the 30 year religious war
- reduced religious
legitimacy.

authority and

Hence, one can say that Modern IL

attributes
its
emergence of:-

root

to

the

- sovereign states

- secular nation-states
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5.1.6. Types of International

Law
There are two major types of
International
Law namely public and Private ILs

1.

Public international law

Refers to relations and interactions

between/among intl legal personalities

mainly states and intl organizations.
In most cases, however, public international
law deals with the relations between/among
sovereign states.
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Types of International
Law
2.

Private international law

Private international law refers to: alaw of a country that applies to cases
involving international law.
- cases with in a given legal system in which
choices between municipal laws can be made.
E.g. When two Sudanese make contracts in Addis Ababa,
the Sudanese court may apply Ethiopias law regarding validity

.
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5.1.7. Sources of International

The main source of IL is the:Law

- expressed consent
- tacit consent of states
Based on the consent of states, there are two
sources:- Material
- Formal
Material/Subsidiary sources
refers to the substance of IL which includes:- Writings of legal scholars,
- Decisions of intl tribunals

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.Sources of International
Law
Formal/primary sources Refers to sources that give IL legal validity include:1. Treaties/conventions expressly accepted by
states as binding( most important source of IL)
2. Customary practice i.e. a general, consistent
and
persistent practice of states.
3. General principles of law which are
recognized
by the international communities.

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 Sources of
1.TREATIES:International
Law

Treaty,ininternational law, refers to a

written
agreement concluded by:- two sovereign states( bilateral treaty)
- more two sovereign states(multilateral
treaty)
- a state and an international organization.

The

principle
that
treaties
validly
concluded:- are binding on the signatories.
- must adhere to in good faith.

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 Sources of
International Law
Sovereign states are bound by treaty

when:-

the treaty consists of customary rules

they become part of the treaty
A treaty is void if it is concluded: In the absence of consent
by the use of force in violation of the
principles of IL.
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 Sources of International
Vienna Convention(VC) on the
Law
Law of Treaties, adopted in 1969,
had rules that govern the:- conclusion of treaty
- validity of treaty(to be based on
consent)
- interpretation of treaty
- modification of treaty
- termination of treaties

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 Sources of
International Law
The VC on the Law of Treaties
-

was

very

much

appreciated

by

representatives
from 110 nations
- went into force in January 1980 after
ratification
by 35 nations.
- the U.S. signed but has not yet ratified the
convention;
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 Sources of International
Law
2. Customary Practices
Customary international law:- is unwritten and
- is based on the actual practices of nations over
time.
A customary law is supposed to be bound by

states if it is practiced:-

for long period of time(long-standing)

in a widespread areas
uniformly
consistently (coherently)
persistently(continuing despite problem)
by a number of sovereign states.

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 Sources of
3.
General
principles
of
law
International Law
The phrase

appeared in the statute of

the Permanent International Court of
Justice, established in 1921, three years
after the end of World War I (1914-1918).
The Court of International Justice was
directed to decide disputes brought
before it on the basis of:- existing treaty law and/or
- customary international law.
- widely recognized legal principles in
national law

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51.8. Nature/characteristics of
IL has the following unique characteristics
the
IL
which differentiate it from the domestic law.
1. Unlike municipal laws, international law has
no
sovereign/recognized legislature to
make law
2. No hierarchy of courts, judiciary, to solve
disputes
3. No accepted system of enforcing laws, i.e.
executive
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Nature
of
the
law
4. International Law operates in a horizontal and
anarchical intl system.
5. Sovereign states obey IL mainly based on:- reciprocity
- mutual benefits
- reputation of law-abiding behavior
6. International Law is soft in some areas such as:- climate change,
- labor rights,
- sustainable development .. etc.
N.B:- Do you agree with the above idea? why? Why
not?
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Nature of the law

Under the International Law the

concept of soft law refers to:-

quasi-law/not true law

non-binding or
less binding

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5.1.9. Relations between IL and

There are different Opinions on the point
DL
whether IL and DL are:-

- two different systems of law or

- form a unity of law.

Such a controversy has resulted in the

emergence of:- Monistic theory

- Dualistic theory

1. Monistic theory
According to this theory, IL and DL are

essentially one and the same thing.

The advocates of monism believe in unitary
December
5, 2015
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Woldu
conception
of
both
IL and DL.

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Relations between IL and

DL
In the words of monists:-

- It is the International Law that granted

the state its legal capacities
- Domestic law must be derived from
International Law
- In case of conflict, International Law
must prevail over the Domestic Law
- States can implement International treaty
without transforming or incorporating it.
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Relations between IL and

DL
2. Dualistic theory
According to the dualistic theory, IL and

DL:- are two independent systems of law

- are entirely separate from each

other
- have different sources
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Relations between IL and

DL

Both IL and DL have different

jurisdictions:- jurisdiction of DL is on domestic matters

- jurisdiction of IL is over international

matters.

Hence, there cannot:- be a hierarchy between IL and DL.

- occur conflict between IL and DL.
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..relation between IL and

DL.

According to dualists, there are

steps in order to implement

international treaties namely:- the state must express its consent to be
part
of the treaty
- the treaty must be
transformed/incorporated
in to the domestic law
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5.1.10. Subjects of IL and

crimes

There are three subjects of IL and

crimes
1. State is the most well-known subject of the IL
2. International organizations and
3. Individuals are also included as subjects of
international law to some extent.
N.B: State and IOs as
discussed
under part two
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subject of IL will be

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Subjects of IL and
Individuals
crimes

The orthodox positivists of 19th

had:-

century

- had denied any position to individuals in IL

- had considered States only as the subjects IL
- had considered Individuals as objects of IL
But, individuals can become the subjects of IL in:-

- the rights and duties of the aliens in the state of their domicile
- the privileges of foreign ships in national ports
- the navigation of high seas
- the claim for the granting of human rights

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.. Subjects of IL
and crimes

Under traditional intl law, individuals: were not subjects;

did not assume responsibility in intl law

Under the development of human rights

law,
individuals have become subjects of IL in: war crimes,
crimes against humanity,
genocide, piracy etc of IL
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.. Subjects of IL
and crimes

Thus, individual criminals can be:

accused and
prosecuted by the ICC

International organizations
International organizations have become

subjects of IL because they:- are established by international treaties

- have legal personalities to carry out juridical acts
- are created by the consent of sovereign states
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5.1.11. Formalities of treaty

Treaties are made based on the formalities
making
and
steps of the Vienna Convention on the law
of
Treaties among which the followings are the
major ones.

1) The full power

Refers

to a document of authorization of
person to do a negotiation.
Treaty making needs to pass the process of

identifying person/s with full power.

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Formalities of treaty
making
Persons who do not need full powers

to negotiate treaties are: Heads of government and/or heads of

state
Foreign ministers
Heads
of
diplomatic
missions
for
adopting the treaty between the two
states
Government representatives of states
in IOs
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Formalities of treaty
making
2 ) Initiating draft proposal
Initiating a draft proposal is on of the steps in the
process of negotiation.
The first activity is to identify the need/gap to be
proposed
Initiating a draft proposal is supposed to be done
by
the executive branch of a government
particularly relevant organization and experts from
that organization.
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Formalities of treaty
making
3) Negotiation
Negotiation is:-

a step next to preparing the draft proposal

the most time taking process to reach at the agreement.
Negotiation in multi-lateral treaty:-

is facilitated by IOs such as UN

representatives hold discussion on the proposal
when agreement is reached, heads of governments or
heads of states are supposed to sign the treaty.

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Formalities of treaty
making
Negotiation in bi-lateral treaty:-

- the two states are responsible to handle the process

of negotiation
- one of the states may take the initiating to prepare a
proposal and send to the other state.
- the state that receives the proposal supposed to
send back its comments to the first state.
- when agreement is reached, heads of government
and states are supposed to express their consent.

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Formalities of treaty
making
4) Mode of expressing Consent

4.1. consent by signature

after agreement is reached, heads of government

and
state are supposed to express their consent by
signature.
a signature for the purpose of expressing consent is
known definitive signature.
Such kind of expressing consent allows the state to
enter the treaty without any additional procedures.
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Formalities of treaty
making
4.2. Consent by signature plus
ratification
Consent by signature plus ratification is called a
simple signature
The Simple signature mode of expressing

consent cannot make a state part of a treaty but

needs ratification by relevant body.
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Formalities of treaty
making
5) Ratification process
The executive organ is supposed to submit the

signed bill to the law making organ

In the law making organ, the signed bill will be
sent to the standing committee
After looking at the bill thoroughly, the
standing committee will present it to the law
making body
The law making organ will approve or reject
the signed bill of treaty
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Formalities of treaty
making
Group Activity-Two
Consent by ratification is taken as a result of
development of democracy in the world
Q-1 ) Why do you think consent by
ratification is
related to democracy? Discuss
Q-2) Who has the power to ratify treaties in
Ethiopia?
And what is the legal base?
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5.1.12. Treaty implementation

Treaty can be implemented through
the
following two methods.
A) Method of Adoption/incorporation:treaties are considered part of domestic law
domestic law has a mandate from the
Sovereign to incorporate IL

B) Method of Transformation:The

parliament
must
express
its
transformation by separate proclamations
In the separate proclamation, the text of the
treaty need to be translate in the
national/working language of the state.
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.Treaty
implementation
Method

of
Adoption/incorporation
of
international law emanates from monist
school
Method of Transformation of IL into
domestic law emanates from the Dualist
school
Q) What does Art 9 (4) of the FDRE
constitution
say about it? Does it follow adoption or
transformation?
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5.1.13.Recognition of
State/Government
1.Recognition of Government
As one of the fundamental elements and

government is requirements of statehood.

Recognition of government is common and is not as
such a problem.
Under the ILs, the emphasis is on the continuity in
the international obligation from one government to
the next
In most cases, the International obligations of State
do not change when the government changes.
Problem may arise when a change in government
happens through unconstitutional means such as by
revolution or military coup.

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Recognition of
State/Government
In such cases, other states may not like the

new government and may want to change

their relations
For the most part, this is a political decision

and not a matter of international law.

Hence, recognition of new governments is a

discretionary power of each states to

decide.
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Recognition of State
2. Recognition of state
Recognition of state is considered to be one of
the attributes of statehood without which it
cannot attain full international personality.
Recognition implies becoming subject of
international rights to be enjoyed and duties to
be imposed.
By recognition, the recognizing states manifest
their intention to considered the recognized
state as a member of international community.
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Recognition
of
State
Recognition
in general is a political action whereby

another state accepts the existence of a factual

situation in another state.

Two theories explain recognition for new states.

A) Declaratory theory- advocated by Hall and others
According to the advocates of this theory, the state
exists prior to recognition.
Once the factual criteria of statehood are fulfilled, the
new state becomes a legal person.

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Recognition
Hence,
of
State
recognition is a formal admission of

already established facts.

The factual criteria includes: Permanent population/people
Well defined territory
Legitimate government
Effective international relations
Recognition simply declares objective existence
of the
above factual criteria

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Recognition
of
State
Recognition
is political in this sense, not

legal
According to professor Hall, state has a right
to enter into the Family of State and must
be treated according to law, as soon as it
shows marks of statehood.
This view was supported by the declaration
of Napoleon:- The French Republic no more
needs recognition than the sun requires to
be recognized.

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Recognition
of
State
B) Constitutive
theory:Hegel was the founder

of this school

According to this theory, recognition is essential

for a State in order to attain full fledged

international personality.
It is only through recognition that a state can: becomes an intl legal person in IL
enjoy rights and duties
For a state to exist, other states should grant
recognition
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Recognition
of
State
Similarly,
for advocates of this view
like Holland and others, a State cannot
said to have attained maturity unless
it is stamped with the seal of
recognition.
Q) How do you evaluate the two theories?
Can we
look for other view? Discuss in CA team.
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Recognition
of
State
3. The correct view
Advocates argues that the truth lies

somewhere between the two theories- DT and

CT
Declarative Theory(DT)
it is factual that certain people settling certain

place lives governed by organized political

entity interacting with other communities.
For this theory, recognition is given or denied for
political reasons, otherwise the practice is there.
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Recognition
of
Statetheory
Constitutive
Obviously States need to get recognition by the

international community to:-

use their rights throughout their relations

and
interactions
Be legally responsible for what they
committed
throughout their relations and
interactions
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..Recognition
cont
Modes of recognition:
Recognition of States can be either IMPLIED

or EXPRESSED.

1) Expressed Recognition
Expressed recognition is made simply by a

formal and official declaration

Expressing interest to recognize needs to
be based on international standards

2) Implied Recognition

Implied
recognition
is
made
by
acts/practices with the intention to grant
legal personality

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..Recognition
cont
Implied recognition can be done either
by :-

signing an agreement or
accrediting a diplomatic envoy

Recognition in general :-

may be granted individually or

collectively
once given is irrevocable
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..Recognition
cont
The issue of recognition arises when:a) A new state emerges through secession
b) Unconstitutional change of government occurs
through coup & revolution E.g. Egypt in 2011

c) Territorial change of state that occurs by

force, i.e. annexation
Forceful
annexation
does
not
give
recognition.
But,
the
permanence,
effectiveness of occupation makes it difficult
for states not to recognize it.
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..Recognition cont

d) When an insurgent is fighting a lawful

government E.g. Libya
IL grants a legal capacity for insurgents

when they have: capacity to administer a given territory

capacity to exercise certain rights

&

obligations

The

UN Charter requests member

states to assist national liberation
movements that can be: the decolonization struggle

fighting for
democracy and human rights
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..Recognition
cont
It is to some extent based on this principle

that
some states have given recognition of
belligerency
to Syrian opposition currently.

Recognition can be either:1. de facto or

2. de jure
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..Recognition
cont
1.
De facto recognition: Defacto: in practice regardless of official or legal

status,
Mainly refers to: the existence of fact
lack of legal sanction or legal right
Recognizing state thinks that the new state: is actually independent and wielding effective
power/authority
but has not acquired sufficient and sustainable
stability and order
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..Recognition
cont
hence, its participation in the international
community is provisional/temporary

2. De jure recognition
Basically De jure recognition refers to:-

recognition in accordance with the law

legal right from which duties can be driven
In the case of de jure recognition: the recognized state fulfills criteria set by IL for
effective participation in the international arena

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..Recognition
The practice of today is neither:cont
both de facto and de jure
the reason of the state matters most

The major differences b/n de facto and de

jure: de jure recognized sate only can represent the

old state for the purpose of state succession
de facto recognized entities are not entitled to
full diplomatic privileges and immunities

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5.1.14. Use of force and

The use of force has been the most
IOs

controversial element in IL
Intl law always considers maintenance of intl
peace as its fundamental purpose.
Thus, rules that govern the use of force
are at the center of IL.
This law in addition to the equality and
territorial integrity of states provide the
framework for intl order.

Just

war:- it is

better

to

start

our

discussion by
looking at doctrine
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A) Use of force:Just war

Just War Doctrine

In the tradition of Western political thought,

the just war doctrine refers to the : ideals

reasons and
values about the issue of when warfare can
be
justified its cause.
There are religions
that allow just war
'when there is a need to defend:
ones people
ones country
property during invasion
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.Use of force:

Just War Doctrine

But a war can just only:-

when it is taken as a last resort

(after diplomacy is

failed)

When it is carried out in a proportional manner

When its end purpose is the restoration of peace
When it has a reasonable hope of success
Augustine argues war is inevitable that can
be: just and unjust.
it is right to participate in a just war.
He defined just war as avenging of
injustice suffered where the guilty party
has refused to make corrections
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.Use of force:-

Just War Doctrine

However, the emergence of

modern sovereign states after

Westphalia changed meaning of
Just War.
Because of sovereignty, no state

could justify the action of another

as unjust or just due to
equality of states in the IL
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B) Use of force and the League of

Nations
The League of Nations requested
states to: avoid the use of force
and resort to:- arbitration,
- judicial settlement or

However, the League of Nation: did not outlaw war as such;

but provided procedures to restrict it to tolerable
levels.
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C) Use of Force and the UN

The UN Charter Art 2 (4), declared that:All states shall refrain from threat or use of
force
against territorial integrity or political
independence of any state

This principle is now regarded as: established principle of intl law and
binding on all member states

But, there are two exceptions where use

of force is justified: collective use of force authorized by the

UN
(when armed attack on a member state
occurs)

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D) Use of force in self-defense

1. Ethiopias attack on Eritrea-

Ethiopia claims it is self-defense for an attack by

insurgents assisted by Eritrea in line with Art. 51

But, intl law supports self-defense only in case
of state armed attack
Yet, in practice, states use it. The US used it on
Afghanistan

2. Ethiopia's attack on Al ShababWas it a preemptive attack as it posed direct

threat to Ethiopia's national security?

These two issues are controversial among IL
scholars
Discuss for 3 min. in class
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E)Use of force and the UN

When inter-state disputes arise:Charter
the SC recommends methods of settlements.
these legally recommendations are not binding.

These recommendations may

include: diplomatic procedures (negotiation, mediation,

inquiry);
adjudication (ad hoc arbitration where the parties
have some control over procedure and
substantive matters) and
judicial settlement in an intl court of justice
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..Use of force and the

There
also
regional
UN
Charterare
organizations
for
settlement such as:-

dispute

The EU Court of Human Rights

The AU Court of Human Rights
The Arab League organization
The Organization of American States etc

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5.1.15. Principle of nonintervention

Principle of non-intervention in state is: regarded as part of customary IL.
based on the territorial integrities of states
In
principle,
legally
International
Law
prohibits:-

at

assisting/helping
Organizing/leading
Financing subversive armed activities directed
overthrowing a regime of another state.

But, in reality, the practice of many states is opposite to

the
principle and legal framework.

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Humanitarian
Exceptionally, IL allows intervention for
intervention
humanitarian for the purposes of
protecting:-

- persons and group of persons

- communities and ethnic groups in an armed
conflicts
Examples:1.UK, France and USA declared a no-fly-zone over northern
Iraq in 1991 to protect Kurds. But, the UN did not
authorize it.
2. NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia was to protect ethnic
Albanians. But, the UN did not also authorize nor
condemn it.
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Humanitarian intervention
As
a
new
approach,
international community has the
responsibility to protect the
rights of civilians and helpless
societies when a state : fails to protect them from the
attackers or
undertakes gross violation
of human rights deliberately

N.B:- This principle implies the need for a

redefinition of principle of state
sovereignty
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5.1.16. International crimes

Major International Crimes include: the crimes of genocide,

war crimes and
crimes against humanity.

a) Genocide refers to: An intention to destroy, in whole or in part

of: national
ethnic groups
religious groups
Genocide act may involve: killing,
bodily/mental harm,
preventing birth etc.
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International crimes
b)War crimes: War

crime is violation of IL that

involves: killing or mistreating the wounded
killing or mistreating Prisoners of War,
using poisonous gas,
destruction of civilian areas, historical sites,
religious sites, etc.

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International crimes
c) Crimes against Humanity:-

Mainly refers to a crime committed:-

before or during armed conflict,

on citizens or non- civilians
Crimes against Humanity Involves:-

murder,
enslavement,
deportation, displacement
torture, etc.

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International crimes
Developing countries argue that Western

countries
intervention as a
political tool.

use

humanitarian

Q) As a leader of one of the

developing
countries, do you agree with the
above
statement? Why?
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5.1.16. International judicial

The UN has different mechanisms
bodies

deal with these crimes committed

at the international level. The
major ones are the following.

1. The International Court of

Justice(ICJ)
2. The International Criminal
Court(ICC)
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1. The International Court of

Justice(ICJ)
1.1. Background of ICJ
Was established in 1945 by the UN

Charter and began work in 1946

Its headquarters located in the Peace
Palace at The Hague, Netherlands
Is part of the UN systems and organs
There has been an increased willingness
to use the Court since the 1980s,
especially among developing countries.
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..the (ICJ)
Has a Statute as a main constitutional

document that regulates its functions

Is the UNs main judicial organ in which

only the sovereign states are subjects

Is binding only on States that are Parties to

it and specific case

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.the
(ICJ)
1.2. The Composicin of ICJ
The ICJ is composed of 15 permanent judges

elected by the UN General Assembly and the UN

Security Council.
Judges of ICJ are supposed to serve for nine year
terms and may be re-elected.
No two judges of ICJ may be nationals of the same
country.
As stated in Article 93 of the UN Charter, all 192 UN
members are automatically parties to the Court's
statute.
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.The International Court

of Justice(ICJ)
1.3.The Procedures of ICJ
The ICJ is vested with the power to make its own

rules and apply them.

The case can be lodged by the applicant who
files a written memorial setting out the basis of the
Court's jurisdiction and the merits of its claim
The respondent may accept the Court's jurisdiction
and file its own memorial on the merits of the case
The official languages of the ICJ are French and
English

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2. The International Criminal

Court(ICC)
2.1. Background of ICC
It came into being in 2002 based on the Rome

Statute due to difficulties observed in ICJ

Its official seat is in The Hague, Netherlands, but
its proceedings may take place anywhere.
It is compulsory and binding only on state
parties or signatories

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..the ICC
2.2. Jurisdiction of ICC
Territorial Jurisdiction:-the ICC has the

territorial jurisdiction only in three cases namely: if the accused is a national of a state party.
If the alleged crime took place on the
territory of a
state party.
If a situation is referred to the ICC by the UN
Security Council.
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..the ICC
Crime Jurisdiction:-the ICC has the jurisdiction

on following crimes which are referred as the

most serious: crimes of genocide
crimes against humanity
war crimes
crime of aggression

The Scope:- the ICC deals with systematic

and widespread human right
crimes.
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and
109

..the ICC
2.3. Major Organs of ICC
a) assembly of the states parties
b) the court
the presidency:- three presidents
- The president
- First vice president
- Second president
the chamber:-three chambers
- pre trial division - appeal division
- trial division

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..the ICC
c) Office of the prosecutor
chief prosecutor
deputy prosecutor

d) The registry
the head of the registrar
the expert/s

2.4. Subjects of ICC

are individuals who committed crimes against nationals

within the territory of State parties

states, associations and companies do not fall under the
jurisdiction of the ICC
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..the ICC
2.5. procedure of the ICC
Chief prosecutor, upon investigation of a claim,

brings charges before the pre-trial chamber

If trial is warranted, the defendant will stand trial
in the trial chamber before a panel of three judges
If convicted, the court may impose imprisonment
for a number of years not to exceed 30 years
No death penalty is allowed
Defendant may appeal to the appeals division
before a panel of five judges
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..the ICC
The milestones of the ICC: individuals can bring their cases.
victims can participate in the court
procedure
victims can claim compensation

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Activity-Two:- to be done
individually and in
groupby
The activities to be performed
individual members first and in group
are reading the topics ,summarizing the
topics and discussing on the summary.
1. Instructions
First, individual team members should read the materials on the

topics and prepare a short summary

Second, the change army team should discuss on the short
summaries reported by each members
Third, the change army team should come up with short summary
of the topics and present in class. All team members will
present.
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2. The topics
The topics are State Succession and

State

Responsibility

3. Time frame
The time given for activity is 8 days excluding the

presentation day.
The time allotted for each presenter is 3 min.
Tentatively all presentations will be held next Saturday
morning

4. Points/Marks
for each presentation 10 points
for the paper 10 points
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5.1.17. State succession(SS)

State succession refers to the transfer of:-

rights
duties from the:-

- old/parent state to the

- new/child state
Under the title of State succession, we have:-

The predecessor state is a state:-from which the newly born state is formed
-which is not existing as it was previously

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5.2. International Organizations

5.2.1. Global Governance(R.A)
Over

the last few decades, new global

governance challenges emerged namely: proliferation of WMD (nuclear, chemical biological);
poverty; environmental threats;
drugs; human rights violation;
ethnic conflicts; terrorism; HIV/AIDS; failed states

It is believed that these problems can be

managed by: a group of sovereign states, not by individual state

using various ways and means
the involvement of different non- state actors

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..International
Organizations
These challenges and problems : require cooperation among states and non-state
actors
demand the establishment of new mechanisms
and
organizations
Thus, an independent body of prominent scholars
were assembled as Commission on Global
Governance in 1995 under the auspices of the UN
to study modes of global cooperation to deal
with global challenges
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..International
The Commission defined governance as:Organizations
the sum of ways by which:-

- individuals and
- institutions manage their common affairs
Global governance includes both formal
and informal arrangements that people and
institutions have agreed to or perceive to be
in their interest
Thus, global governance is not global
government; it does not mean a single world
order; it is not a top-down hierarchical
structure of authority.
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..International
Organizations
Pieces of global governance: Pieces of global
governance are the problem-solving arrangements
& activities that states and non-state actors have
put into place to deal with various issues and
problems
They include intl laws, norms/soft laws and formal
international
intergovernmental
organizations
(IGOs), relief aid, development assistance, human
rights monitoring mechanisms etc
But, multilateral agreements (except EU) are not used
to directly bind individuals, terrorists, NGOs, MNCs.
Yet, multilateral agreements create norms/standards
of behavior/soft laws, which states are expected to
observe and if possible, enforce against non-state
actors
Due to this, the state-centric public intl law did
not help much in the development of
comprehensive
global
governance
mechanisms

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5.2.2.International
organizations
Types of International organizations
The major types of international organizations to be

discussed under this topic are following:-

1.

International Inter-governmental Organizations(IOs)

IGOs are formal institutions comprised primarily of sovereign

states such as UN, AU, EU, NATO, G8,..etc.

2. International Non-Governmental Organizations

(INGOs)
International NGOs are essentially nonprofit, private

organizations that engage in a variety of international

activities (e.g. Amnesty International, Greenpeace,
International Committee for Red Cross, ..etc.)
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..International
Organizations

3. Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

There are four broad categories of

MNCs:-

MNCs involved in Agriculture and extractive

industries, including gas and oil explorations
(British Petroleum (BP), . etc).
MNCs involved in the provision of financial
services, such as multinational banks, brokers and
insurance companies.
MNCs as industrial corporations involved in
manufacture of goods (Motorola, Sony, .. etc).
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5.2.3. International Intergovernmental

Organizations(IGOs)
a) Definition
of IGOs simply put IOs
Intl inter-governmental organizations are

organizations established by two or more

states with common interests for common
purposes.

International Organizations have their

own unique natures and features among
which the following are the major ones.

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b)Characteristics of IOs
IOs have the following major features through

which their essence can be understood.

1. IOs are created by states:- one of their features is

that they are basically
formed by sovereign states.
2. IOs are established by treaties:- the other feature is that
they cannot be
established by
domestic
laws
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.IOs
3. IOs have powers delegated by States: IOs are supposed to act based on the interests of the

member States. To this end, they have attributive and

implied sources of powers and functions.

c) Classifications of IOs

1.

Classification based on functions and

purposes:-

IOs are supposed to carry out different functions such:- economic

- social

- security/military
- diplomacy

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.IOs
2) Classification based on membership: IOs can be classified based on their
membership and scope as:- open to all states to be a member
example:- UN
-open only to some sates to be a
member
example:- AU

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.IOs

d) States join IOs because IOs : allow

more economic cooperation and

benefits;
allow states to gain more political influence;
guarantee states with more security;
reinforce positive behavior of members; and
hence peaceful coexistence
make other states' behavior predictable;
allow states to benefit from administrative
machinery cheaply . etc

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(IOs)

e) Evolution or history of IOs (reading

assignment)
The earliest modern precedents to todays
IOs:
1. Westphalia treaty, 1648
Representatives of the state in Europe could not

solve differences between states, religious issues

and others. This led to the need of having IOs to
cooperate and handled issues.
Generally and gradually, the state system declined
when intl trade, immigration, democratization,
technological innovation expanded.
Thus, Westphalia Peace Treaty was emerged as the
1st instance of international organization.
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.IOs
2) THE CONCERT OF EUROPE (CONGRESS OF VIENNA, 1815)
It was the 1st systematic attempt to regulate
international
affairs
through
intl
conference among European powers; (Austria,
GB, France, Prussia, Russia). So, no major war
between them
It guaranteed freedom of navigation over
European international Rivers and Seas, which
made intl waters a subject of intl law and
adopted code of ethics on how to conduct
diplomacy
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.IGOs
The Berlin Conference, 1884-85, also

gave
order to the emergence of the Scramble for
Africa to preserve the peace & facilitated by
industrial revolution
The CONCERT introduced methods of dealing
with
common
problems;
introduced
multilateral diplomacy & special privileges for
great powers
The Congress system institutionalized the
balance of power system (avoidance of rise of
hegemony through alliance/counter-alliance)
& dominated the whole 19th century until WWI
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.IOs
3) THE HAGUE CONFERENCE SYSTEM, 1899,
1907:

a generalized conference system in

which Europeans & non-Europeans were
invited to participate in problem solving.
During this time, Russia convened two
conferences in the Hague involving
European and non-European states on
prevention of war, treatment of prisoners &
conditions for arbitration, negotiation
This was

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131

China, Latin American states, Japan were given

equal voice. Thus legal equality of states and
universality emerged as twin principles.
It led to the Convention for the Pacific
Settlement of Intl Disputes, 1899 (an ad
hoc commission of inquiry) & the legalistic
institutions such as Permanent Court of
Arbitration in 1907, a permanent body of
jurists selected by states.
In general, the CONCERT OF EUROPE & HAGUE

were major global governance

innovations in 19th century.
CONFERENCES

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Weaknesses of conferences
1. The Conferences had to be initiated by a
powerful state which has interest in it
2. There was no formal organization, no explicit
mechanism for implementing collective action.
3. It lacked principles of membership. Participation
was based on the will of the powerful state that
organized the conference & invited participants;
thus, largely Eurocentric

4.They were not wide debating forums; only

heads of state used to read out
statements/positions
5. They were political forums, rather than focusing
on legal aspects of dispute resolution due to
emphasis on the principle of equality of
states
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.IOs

PUBLIC
PUBLICINTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONALUNIONS:
UNIONS:
Specific
Specific purpose
purpose organizations
organizations were
were also
also established
established
among
among Europeans
Europeans to
to deal
deal with
with nonpolitical
nonpolitical issues
issues such
such
as
commerce,
as
commerce, communications,
communications, technological
technological
innovation
innovationetc
etc
Due
Dueto
togrowing
growinginterdependence,
interdependence,Europeans
Europeans established
established
the
theInternational
InternationalTelegraphic
TelegraphicUnion
Unionin
in1865
1865with
with
permanent
permanentsecretariat;
secretariat;the
theUniversal
UniversalPostal
PostalUnion
Unionin
in
1874;
1874;and
andInternational
InternationalCriminal
CriminalOrganization,
Organization,Interpol,
Interpol,
in
in1923,
1923,all
allinstrumental
instrumentalin
infacilitating
facilitatingnonpolitical
nonpoliticaltasks
tasks
such
suchas
ascommunication,
communication,commerce
commerce
Public
Public unions
unions also
also offered
offered techniques
techniques of
of multilateral
multilateral
conventions,
conventions,i.e.
i.e.making
makingbinding
bindinglaws
lawson
onmembers
members
th

These
Theseorganization
organizationpaved
pavedthe
theway
wayfor
for20
20 thcentury
centuryIOs
IOs

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THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS(19191939)

All these 19 century conferences and innovations

failed
to prevent the collapse of the balance of power system
among Europeans
th

Hence, WWI between Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy,

Austria) & Triple Entente (UK, France, Russia) occurred.
The Versailles Treaty on the basis of terms of the victors
led
to the formation of League of Nations

Hence The League was established as the 1 st intl

permanent organization with more of political
nature.

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THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONs
League of Nations was originally the idea of
American President Woodrow Wilson following
the First World War.
There were different views on how the League of
Nations should operate
American view:-a world parliament where
representatives would meet regularly to decide on
matters which affect all of them
Britain in view:- a very simple organization in
which representatives would meet during emergencies
only
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.THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS
France View:-A strong League capable of enforcing
decisions with its own army
The Americans did not join the League. why? This was
because:1. many Americans did not think that the Versailles Treaty was fair. As

the League was linked with the treaty, they did not want to be part
of it.
2. most Americans wanted to stay out of disputes that might enter
their troops into a war
3. others wanted to avoid the economic cost of joining the League
4. many Americans were anti-French and anti-British at that time
5. basically policy of isolationism(staying out of international affairs)
made Americans not to join the League of Nations.
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.THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS
Major purpose/aims of the League of Nations
were:-

1.to promote intl peace

2.to encourage co-operation in business and trade
3. to discourage aggression from any country
4. to encourage disarmament

5.

to maintain intl security through peaceful

settlement of disputes (arbitration and
adjudication) and collective security methods

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.THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Two basic principles:

1. Members agreed to respect territorial integrity and
political independence of states
2. Members agreed to try methods of peaceful dispute
settlement
3. Members agreed at, the end, the League to have
the mandate to enforce settlements through
diplomatic & economic sanctions in case of states
resort to war

Major organs of the League

1. Executive Council
2.
3.
4.

Assembly
Secretariat
Permanent Court of Intl Justice &

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.THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS
1. Executive Council
The Council was consisted of:-

* UK, France, Italy and Japan permanently

and
* four other periodically elected members.

The Council was the main organ to:* handle and settle disputes
* impose diplomatic and other sanctions,
* supervise mandate system..
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.THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

2. Assembly of the League

It consisted of all member states of the League

of Nations
The GA was authorized to:* admit new members,
* approve budget,
* elect non-permanent members to
Council
In principle, the GA operated on the basis of :* unanimity,
* complete agreement
In the GA, in many practically cases, states
preferred:* abstaining
rather than
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.THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS
3. Permanent Court of Intl Justice (PCIJ)
Judges were elected by both:* the Executive Council &
* the Assembly

Permanent Court of Intl Justice:* gave advisory opinions to those in need

* was permanent organ
* its judgments of were binding on all
parties
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.THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Leagues weaknesses(read this part)
a)It became unpopular as it included the unjust
Versailles Treaty which excluded the defeated powers
initially
b)The Covenant did not deal with issues of withdrawal
and the consequences of withdrawal. Thus, states
tried to avoid obligations by withdrawing their
membership
c)The rule of unanimity undermined the League. Hence,
it could not prevent Italys invasion on Ethiopia, 1935,
Japans invasion on China, 1931, Germanys
invasions, 1939. Japan withdrew from the League in
1933. the USSR was expelled when it invaded Finland
in 1939
d)Decisions on whether circumstances arose to enforce
sanctions were up to the discretion of individual
states, not by League
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.THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Failures of the League
It failed to take decisive action; neither France nor

UK wanted to take military or economic sanctions

Its response to Italys invasion further undermined
its legitimacy. UK and France had already assured
Mussolini of their neutrality
In fact, the League Council had identified Italy as
aggressor and called for sanctions, but not
implemented.
It also failed to prevent Hitlers invasion of
Czechoslovakia and Austria.
Shortly, it can be said that collective security was
impractical in reality
As a result, the League was silent on WWII during
the period of 1939-45.
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The United Nations(Since 1945)

1.The origin of UN
The Atlantic Charter of August , 1941,

was:-

taken as the basic foundation of the UN

a joint declaration of Roosevelt and Churchill

to bring permanent system of security and

economic collaboration
at first affirmed by 26 states
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.The United Nations

Based on the Charter, the great powers had a

series of conferences
and negotiations
Washington, in August and October 1944

at

The conferences and negotiations were on the

basis of universal membership of all peace

loving states
Then, it was finalized and adopted by 50

states at San Francisco conference on August

25, 1945
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.The United Nations

In the process of

the negotiation, the debate on

regionalism and globalism in international politics was
high by that time. That is universalism Vs cultural
relativism

Third world delegates led by Latin American and Arab

blocs were advocates of regionalism. Why? Discuss.

Finally, at the San Francisco conference modifications

favoring regionalism were made.

As a result, the UN Charter incorporated the right to

collective self-defense and the primacy of dispute

settlement through regional means.
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..The United Nations

2. Purposes of the UN

The UN has the following major purposes.

1) to promote intl economic, social, humanitarian
cooperation
2) to maintain intl peace & security and take
effective measures to this end
3) to develop friendly and brotherhood relations
among states
4) to guarantee the rights of self-determination to
peoples
5) to harmonize the actions of states to attain
common ends

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The United Nations

3. Principles of the UN
1. Sovereign equality of states ; one stateone-vote in the GA
2. Peaceful settlement of disputes and
conflicts;
3. States restraint from threat/use of force;
4. States shall assist UNs enforcement
actions on those breaching peace;
5. Members are required to act in line with
UNs requirements
6. No UN intervention in domestic matters
unless it falls within enforcement jurisdiction

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The United Nations

But,

the line between domestic Vs.

international problems remains blurred in
the UN Charter
The scope of international expanded
gradually with UNs role in human rights,
development, environment, ethnic/intra-state
conflicts, humanitarian crises, failed states,
terrorism etc
Thus, tension always exists between UNs
commitment to collective security against a
state & affirmation of state sovereignty

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The United Nations

4. Major Organs of the UN

The UN has the following the major
organs.
The UN consists of 6 bodies namely:-the General Assembly
Trusteeship Council
-the Security Council,,
-Economic & Social Council,

- the
- the ICJ
-the Secretariat

There are also specialized agencies namely:-the WHO

-the FAO,
-the UNESCO
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- the IMF
- the World Bank,
151

The United Nations

1. The General Assembly of the UN
1. The GA is a world forum operating along
one state-one-vote formula for all
members
2. The GA coordinates, supervises subsidiary
bodies with specialized committees &
decides on the UN budget
3. The GA admits new members, that are
peace loving nations after SCs affirmative
vote;
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..The United Nations

4. It elects non-members to the SC and other organs
5. It appoints the SG after recommendation by the SC
and appoints ICJ judges
6. It can make inquiries on conflict situations and
propose amendment to the Charter by 2/3 rd vote,
to be ratified by 2/3rd states including all
permanent members
7. It can call up the attention of SC on matters of
intl security but, its problem is that when a
peace & security agenda is deadlocked in the SC,
the GA cant discuss & decide on it.
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.The United Nations

8. The GA produced treaties such as:*

the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic

Relations,
* 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,
* 1968 Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear
weapons.

9. The GAs voting system is:* majority for ordinary matters

* 2/3rd for substantive matters

10. The GA is weak because mainly:* its non-binding recommendations as well as

* the diverse
interests of its members en it
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.The United Nations

2.The Security Council of the UN
SC consists of 15 member states:* five permanent members with veto powers
and
* ten non-members elected every two years
The election system of SC is based on:* geographic representation criteria
* contribution to intl peace & security and
* other UN objectives.
normally, the representatives are:* (5)Afro-Asia ,
* (1) Eastern Europe
* (2)Latin America
* (2)Western Europe
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.The United
Nations

The major reasons for permanent

membership of the great
powers
were that:They made sacrifice in establishing intl
economic, political, legal order
Justified for smooth and quick decisions on
aggression
The USSR would not have joined the UN
without veto due to the western bias of the
Council

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..The United Nations

2. Powers of the Security Council:
Under Art 24, it has a primary objective of
maintaining intl peace & security through
peaceful settlement of disputes short of
force or collective use of force.
Only the SC authorizes enforcement
sanctions.
Primarily, SC takes actions short of war in
case of
disputes due to breach of peace, threat to
peace or aggression
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.The United Nations

3. Voting of the SC
Affirmative vote of 9 members including the concurring

vote of P5 is required on substantive matters. Unlike

the League it operated on majority vote system
One negative vote by a P5 state is enough to nullify
any resolution. But, procedural matters require only
nine affirmative votes
During the Cold War, it was paralyzed due to frequent
use of veto by the P5
Q) Why veto power?
Veto was justified on grounds:
1) the founders deliberately incorporated it to make the use of
force difficult for the organization because the dangers of
waging war
2) consensus of the great powers was needed for the use of
force to be successful politically and militarily
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The United Nations

4.Peacekeeping system and the SC: Peacekeeping as defined by The UN is an

operation involving military personnel, but

without enforcement powers, undertaken by the
UN to help maintain, restore intl peace &
security in areas of conflict
peace building (identify & support structures
to promote peace),
peacekeeping (deployment of troops by
consent) &
peace enforcement (peacekeeping without
consent) as UN actions
Peacekeeping
is one of the innovative
approaches to promote peace and security
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.The United Nations

But, the UN Charter does not provide any

provision for peacekeeping. It is an

innovation of the Cold War conflicts
Thus, peacekeeping is referred to as a
grey zone between peaceful settlement
of disputes & the military enforcement
provision .

Peacekeeping is based on voluntary

contribution of troops from member

states as proposed in the Charter
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The United Nations

Peacekeeping is a multinational force often

from developing countries consisting of ad hoc

military, civilian & police units
E.g. PKs in Darfur and South/North Sudan
Traditionally, their primary purpose is to
monitor truce, ensure troop withdrawals,
provide a buffer zone etc
Q) What were the responsibilities of
UNMEE? How did it withdrew from the
border? What is the role of Ethiopian PK
mission in South Sudan?

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The United Nations

3. The Secretariat of the UN
The Secretariat is a technical organ and more

than 7000 staff running the administration of

UNs programs, policies
The Secretariat is led by the Secretary General ;
this organ being led by Secretary General has
the power to bring issues of peace & security to
the attention of the SC
The Secretary General often comes from
developing & small countries for 5 years term
renewable
The Secretary General represents the UN in
many forums for different duties.
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4. Trusteeship Council of the UN:

Trusteeship Council was mandated to administer
territories in the process of self-government
But, Trusteeship Council of the UN is not
functional in the contemporary world.
5. The ECOSOC of the UN:
The ECOSOC undertakes much of the economic
and social activities
The ECOSOC consists of 54 members elected by
the GA for three years

..The United Nations

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The United Nations

Suspension/expulsion: Membership of the
UN may be suspended under Article 5 by
the GA, upon the recommendation of the
SC, where the member state concerned is
the object of preventive or enforcement
action by the SC.
Article 6 allows for expulsion of a member
by the GA, upon the recommendation of
the SC where the member state has
persistently
violated
the
Principles
contained in the Charter

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..The United Nations

Reform of the SC: reform requires amendment
of the Charter, i.e. 2/3rd at GA to be ratified by
2/3rds of member states including the P5
the reform of the SC has always been debatable.
The second issue is whether to continue with
permanent Vs nonpermanent distinction.
Related to this there is issue of whether new
members will have veto power or not
Options: 1. No veto power to new members;
2. limit veto power of the permanent
members to Chapter VII only;
3. eliminate veto entirely as it is
undemocratic
Q) Which option do you think is best option in light of the
existing international order?

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