Sources of International Law Treaties Written agreements between governments Only legally binding for states that sign and ratify Each member can modify its obligation with reservations Usually possible to withdraw Sources of International Law Custom Unwritten but legally binding if o Widespread long standing state practice o Regarded as legal obligation States can be exempt if they demonstrate early and persistent objection Jus Cogens Subset of customary law also known as peremptory norms Requires virtually unanimous acceptance among international Absolutely no violations permitted Trumps any treaty or other law community that contradicts it No clear procedure for determining what qualifies Clearly prohibits genocide piracy slavery and wars of aggression Possibly also torture and death penalty for minors Other Sources of International Law General principles of international law mostly procedures for Writing of publicists mostly used to determine whether custom interpretation exists UN Security Council resolutions legally binding UN General Assembly resolutions not binding but can be evidence of custom Decisions of some regional orgs binding on members Other Features of International Law The International Criminal Court Succession treaties are binding on states not specific leaders or governments New regimes and even new states created by their predecessors International court of Justice only states have legal standing so little relevance to human rights Hears an average of 2 cases per year mostly border disputes INTERPOL mostly deals with conventional crime that crosses borders such as drug trafficking Universal jurisdiction any state can claim jurisdiction over individuals who violate jus cogens or treaties that explicitly establish universal jurisdiction o 1 051 individuals have been charged but only 32 trials Created by Rome Statute in 1998 Began in 2002 in Hague Netherlands Tries individuals for war crimes aggressive use of force Has jurisdiction if o Accused is citizen of a member state OR o Crime takes place on territory of member state OR o UN Security Council refers case to court Only used as last resort local courts unwilling unable to act 36 indictments including 4 heads of state 8 in custody Lubanga DRC convicted of using child soldiers sentenced to 14 years in prison currently appealing Chui DRC acquitted as he couldn t be directly connected Katanga DRC convicted of ordering attack on village awaiting Very slow opened in 2002 first trial in 2012 8 years after arrest Accused of being biased against Africans sentencing Regional Courts European Court of Human Rights individuals can file claims including against their own government Receives 50 000 applications per year Inter American Court of Human Rights 10 15 cases per year African Court of Human and People s Rights so far every case submitted has been ruled inadmissible UN Peacekeeping The Intervention in Libya Peacekeeping authorized by Chapter Six and a half of UN Charter Ch VI calls on SC to negotiate dispute settlements Ch VII authorizes SC to use military force SC authorizes missions determines mandate rules of engagement UN members donate to general peacekeeping fund UN members volunteer troops Government s where deployment goes usually must consent Early 2011 EU and US leaders concerned that Gaddafi will use airstrikes against civilians March 17 2011 UN Security Council passes resolution authorizing no fly zone refers Gadafi and deputies to ICC March 18 Libya announced end to military activities but continued to attack rebel strongholds March 19 NATO begins enforcing no fly zone France begins airstrikes against Libyan military targets September 2011 UN peacekeeping mission deployed to help new Libyan government secure country October 2011 Gadafi captured and killed by rebels Treaty Compliance Governments sign human rights treaties in hopes of benefits foreign aid etc Treaties create stakeholders some groups stand to benefit from implementation of human rights treaties Also draw focus to a particular set of rights clarify definition of rights right Signing a treaty signals that a government recognizes a human To summarize when a government signs a human rights treaty both the value and probability of success of mobilization for that human right increase In semi democratic states compliance with HR treaties can be enforced from the bottom up by grassroots mobilization Other Sources of Compliance NGOs can name and shame human rights violators States want reputation for law abiding behavior even if they don t want to obey a particular law they want to use other portions of international law Legitimacy leaders may internalize the law believe that it is the right thing to do Externalities In a private transaction the parties take their own costs and benefits into account when deciding on prices But sometimes third parties can receive benefits or be forced to pay costs o These benefits and costs are called externalities For economics externalities are a problem because prices are no longer an effective signal Externalities and Market Based Environmental Policy Economists would like to use prices to regulate environment if your product harms environment consumer will demand lower price But if there are externalities environmental problems are not fully reflected in price Example no externality dangerous construction work the more dangerous the work is the higher the pay demanded by the workers creates incentive for employer to minimize danger Example externality mining produces acid runoff that makes fish downstream unsafe to eat Fisherman don t buy many minerals so price of minerals doesn t fully reflect environmental problems How to Address Externalities Coase Theorem market can solve externalities problems IF o Property rights are clear o Costs of transaction low How Either o Polluter pays for right to pollute OR o Non polluters pay for clean air and water Both improve societal welfare but create different winners and Market exchanges only work if you have exclusive right to what you re exchanging Property rights must be losers Coase Theorem in Practice o Clear o Enforceable o Transferable If these are met property rights help environment by incentivizing efficient use of resources Example cap and trade for CO2 emissions Alternatives to Coase Theorem Compensate people harmed by externalities o Some ICJ cases regarding river pollution have done this o Can create moral hazard incentive to misrepresent causes of