Fall 2014 Midterm Review Good Luck Is International Law important Yes No Yes Creates a foundation for how state act with each other establishes civility stability creates issue linkage b t countries holds states accountable for their actions No States have no binding reason to follow the law little no 3rd party reinforcement Religious cultural obstacles States will do what they want in order to achieve their goal Compliance pull International law does not have any compliance pull in the sense that a government will obey if an obligation requires that it act in a way that would result in a short term loss vis a vis an import issue When a state feels obligated to comply to conditions Default Assumptions 1st We almost always associate law with cop on the corner model of criminal law a rule backed by a sanction that says if you do the crime you do the time 2nd Presumptions of efficiency Critics tend to assume that domestic law works efficiently under all circumstances 3rd The difference between law and politics implying a relative absence of political considerations at the domestic levels We assume that there are no obstacles to changing domestic law to comply with international law Political Realism Theoretical Anarchy Realists believe the anarchical condition of the international system means that states constantly seek out their own interest and constantly seek to enhance their own power and power position to ensure their survival There must be an absolute power aka an international institution to ensure that binding agreements are enforced Assumes that state interests must always be competitive and never congruent Increasing institutionalization of modern international life to suggest that states can and do cooperate on a sustained basis because they cannot otherwise achieve their goals Cooperation on the international stage works via institutions League of Nations United Nations World Trade Organization etc Liberalism Constructivism A social theory that focuses on how each state engages and deals with the consequence of anarchy as the essential structural element of international politics Offers no predictions about regularities or trends in world politics rather it seeks to explain why the world is organized the way it is How we ought to think about international politics Seeks to explain how state behaviors converge to produce international norms and institutions Islamic Law Changing norms and how preferences are socially constructed Separate laws for peace and war times Islamic Just War Resist aggression Redress injury Self Defense Not for conversion Globalization Supranational issues New technology Trade Transnational terrorism Environmental degradation Narcotics trade Critics There are winners and losers in globalization Sources of International Law International Conventions treaties whether general or particular establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states International Custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law Article 38 The general principles of law recognized by civilized nations Judicial decisions patterns in decisions of similar cases The teachings of the most highly qualified publicists writers subject to the provisions of article 59 International Treaties Conventions Treaties as explicit and deliberate agreements b t or among states constitute the closet parallel to a legislative function at the international level Written agreement b t 2 or more countries on a specific issue problem In order for a treaty to take full effect the state must sign and ratify or deposited an instrument of accession to the treaty A state should follow the normal habits useful in facilitating international contacts considered essential to peaceful relations even though no formal written agreement exists to define the obligations in detail Although no formal legal code Customary Law specifies the obligations failing to follow a rule established through legal custom raises the possibility of punishment sanction or retaliation because it entails a binding duty toward other nations Unwritten rules although they are legally binding Flexible more able to quickly adapt to new situations Extremely open to interpretation continuously evolving pacta sunt servanda Legal treaties must be followed The Louts Case 1952 The Scotia Case 1872 A French vessel rammed and sunk a Turkish ship Upon arriving in a Turkish port officials placed him under arrest then tried and sentenced him under provisions of Turkish law France protested both countries agreed to submit the case to the Permanent Court of International Justice PCIJ and trying the French officer Has Turkey violated international law in asserting jurisdiction by arresting Turkey has not violated any provisions of international law Issue Decision France Follow the flag France claimed that because the captain was flying the French flag he should be charged under France s laws Turkey Passive Personality Principle Turkey asserted that the Turkish nationals on the boat were objects of Turkey they were allowed to presume jurisdiction All of Europe is critical of the decision At a diplomatic conference in Brussels in A collision happened between the American shipping vessel Berkshire and the British steamer Scotia by which the Berkshire sank Owners of the Berkshire sued in the district court to recover their losses claiming the Scotia caused the collision The Berkshire did not display colored lights which at the time was English maritime customary law Although there were no US laws that described the use of maritime lights Berkshire violated by not displaying the appropriate lights The prevailing law was the law of the sea England s law which the What was the law prevailing at the place and time of collision Issue Decision Reasoning 1863 British govt issued order in council prescribing rules and regulations for the display of lights and for movements of both sailing vessels and steamers Before the end of 1864 nearly all maritime nations had adopted the same regulations respecting lights No single nation can change the law of the sea which rests on the common consent of civilized communities de lege lata vs de lege ferenda The law as presently found vs the law as it ought to be jus cogens peremptory norms Rules of customary law considered so fundamental and significant to the structure and functioning of the international community that they bind states even if the state has no given formal consent Prohibitions against