Subjects of international law | LexIcon
Summary
TLDRThis lecture explores the subjects of international law, defining them as entities with rights, duties, and the capacity to bring claims. It distinguishes between state and non-state subjects, with states being primary due to their inherent legal personality. The video delves into the evolving recognition of non-state actors like international organizations and individuals, highlighting their growing role in international law, including the direct rights and obligations of individuals and the potential subjectivity of groups and corporations.
Takeaways
- 📚 International law subjects are entities capable of possessing international rights and duties and having the capacity to maintain their rights through international claims.
- 🏛 The International Court of Justice defined the capacity to bring international claims as the ability to use customary methods recognized by international law, such as protests, requests for inquiry, negotiation, arbitration, and litigation.
- 👑 Sovereign states are the original and primary subjects of international law due to their international legal personality, rights, duties, and capacity to bring international claims.
- 🌐 Non-state subjects of international law include international organizations, individuals, national liberation movements, revolutionary groups, multinational corporations, NGOs, and more.
- 🏢 International organizations, like the United Nations, are recognized as international persons with legal personality and rights and duties distinct from states, and they can bring and face international claims.
- 👤 Individuals have become central to international law, especially in human rights law, and have direct access to courts for grave violations of international law, indicating they are subjects of international law.
- 📜 The 1949 survey by the International Law Commission suggested that individuals can acquire rights directly under treaties and are bound by international law obligations regardless of their state's law.
- 🤝 Groups of individuals, such as national liberation movements, may also be subjects of international law, but the criteria for this are still debated among scholars.
- 🔍 The traditional checklist for legal personality may no longer be sufficient, and new criteria like the capacity to enter into international relations are being considered.
- 🌟 NGOs and multinational corporations, though not officially recognized as subjects of international law, play significant roles in international relations and lawmaking.
- 🙏 The script concludes that non-state actors, even if their status as international law subjects is debated, are undeniably influential in the realm of international law.
Q & A
What is the most common definition of a subject of international law?
-A subject of international law is a person or entity capable of possessing international rights and duties and having the capacity to maintain its rights by bringing international claims.
What are the two main elements that form the notion of legal personality in international law?
-The two main elements are international rights and international duties.
What is the third element that, along with international rights and duties, defines a subject of international law?
-The third element is the capacity to bring international claims.
How did the International Court of Justice define the capacity to bring an international claim in the 1949 case 'Reparation for Injuries'?
-The capacity to bring an international claim is defined as the ability to resort to customary methods recognized by international law for the establishment, preservation, and settlement of claims, such as protest, requests for inquiry, negotiation, arbitration, and litigation.
Why are sovereign states considered primary subjects of international law?
-Sovereign states are considered primary subjects of international law because they satisfy all criteria: they have international legal personality, rights and duties, and they are capable of bringing international claims.
What are some examples of non-state subjects of international law mentioned in the script?
-Examples of non-state subjects of international law include international organizations, individuals, national liberation movements, revolutionary groups, multinational corporations, and NGOs.
According to the International Court of Justice, what is the difference between an international organization and a state in terms of legal personality?
-An international organization is an international person but is not the same as a state, meaning its legal personality and rights and duties are not the same as those of a state.
How have individuals become more visible in international law during the 20th century?
-Individuals have become more visible in international law through the central focus on human rights law, the introduction of individual criminal responsibility for grave violations of international law, and gaining direct access to courts.
What does the script suggest about the role of individuals in acquiring rights and obligations under international law?
-The script suggests that individuals can acquire rights directly under a treaty, and the obligations of international law bind individuals directly, regardless of their state's law.
What is the significance of the procedural capacity of individuals in international law?
-The procedural capacity of individuals is significant because it means that individuals can turn to courts to bring international claims, such as appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.
What is the current debate regarding the status of non-state groups like NGOs and multinational corporations in international law?
-The debate revolves around whether such non-state groups satisfy all the criteria to be considered subjects of international law, with some arguing that their capacity to enter into international relations and influence lawmaking should be recognized.
How does the script suggest redefining the traditional rule of legal personality in the context of international organizations and other entities?
-The script suggests that the traditional rule of legal personality should be redefined to include a recognized contractual capacity in the international sphere, which may be more relevant than the old checklist for determining subject status.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Subjects of International Law
The script begins by introducing the concept of subjects of international law, emphasizing the lack of a uniform definition but a commonly accepted one that includes the capacity to possess rights, duties, and to bring international claims. It explains the criteria for being a subject, such as having international legal personality and the ability to maintain rights through customary methods like protest, negotiation, arbitration, and litigation. The primary subjects are sovereign states, which naturally meet these criteria. The script also introduces non-state subjects, such as international organizations, individuals, national liberation movements, and others, noting that the list is not fixed and is subject to debate.
🌐 Expanding the Scope of International Law Subjects
This paragraph delves into the evolving recognition of non-state subjects in international law. It discusses the increasing visibility of individuals in international law, particularly in human rights and international criminal law, and their direct access to courts. The script references the International Law Commission's survey that acknowledges individuals can have rights and obligations under international law. It also touches on groups of individuals, suggesting that traditional criteria for legal personality may be evolving to include the capacity to enter into international relations. The paragraph concludes by highlighting the significant roles of NGOs and multinational corporations in international law, even if their status as official subjects is still debated.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Subjects of International Law
💡International Legal Personality
💡Capacity to Bring International Claims
💡Sovereign States
💡International Organizations
💡Individuals
💡Non-State Subjects
💡National Liberation Movements
💡Multinational Corporations
💡Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
Highlights
The lecture introduces the concept of subjects of international law.
A subject of international law is defined as an entity capable of possessing international rights and duties.
The capacity to bring international claims is a key aspect of being a subject of international law.
Sovereign states are the original and primary subjects of international law.
States have international legal personality, rights, duties, and the ability to bring claims.
The International Court of Justice provided criteria for the capacity to bring international claims in 1949.
International organizations, though not states, are recognized as subjects of international law.
The United Nations is an international person with the capacity to maintain its rights through international claims.
Individuals have become more visible in international law, particularly in human rights law.
Individuals can have direct rights under a treaty and can be bound by international law.
Individuals have the procedural capacity to turn to courts for international claims.
Groups of individuals, such as national liberation movements, may also be subjects of international law.
The traditional rule of legal personality is being redefined to include non-state actors.
Non-state subjects like NGOs and multinational corporations play significant roles in international law.
The capacity to enter into international relations is a criterion for non-state subjects of international law.
The lecture concludes by acknowledging the evolving nature of subjects in international law.
Transcripts
welcome to lexicon your visual guide to
public international law before we start
our lecture today think of this French
law applies to natural and legal persons
in France that's quite clear and by
analogy romanian law for example applies
to naturally no persons in romania
question that is more relevant for us is
what about international law
therefore the topic for today will be
subjects of international law let's
first define the notion what is a
subject of international law there is no
uniform definition but the most common
one is that a subject of international
law is a person or entity capable of
possessing international rights and
duties and having capacity to maintain
his rights by bringing international
claims if we divide that definition in
two elements first one is international
rights second international duties and
these two together form a notion of
legal personality and then the third is
the capacity to bring international
claims and while the first two elements
are relatively clear we still have to
establish what is that capacity to bring
international claims the International
Court of Justice in the 1949 case
reparation of injuries suffered in the
service of the United Nations provided
that the competence to bring an
international claim is the capacity to
resort to the customary methods
recognized by international law for the
establishment the preservation and the
settlement of claims and a couple of
examples that the court provides our
protest requests for an inquiry
negotiation as well as arbitration and
litigation but let's now get back to our
initial question what are the subjects
of international original and primary
subjects of international law are
sovereign states why is that because
they satisfy all criteria they have
international legal personality
rights and duties and they're capable of
bringing international claims but let me
give you some examples so the states are
recognized as legal entities they have
international rights such as the right
to self-defense they have international
obligations such as the duty to respect
sovereignty of other states and one
state can bring a claim against another
state for example and the International
Court of Justice there are state
subjects but then there are also
non-state subjects of international law
but the list is not set
it may include international
organizations individuals national
liberation movements revolutionary
groups multinational corporations NGOs
and so on let's examine them one by one
the International Court of Justice in
the same 1949 case reparation of
injuries said about whether the United
Nations is a subject of international
law the following the organization is an
international person that is not the
same thing as saying that it is a state
or that its legal personality and rights
and duties are the same as those of a
state it is a subject of international
law incapable of possessing
international rights and duties and it
has capacity to maintain its rights by
bringing international claims
international organizations are
recognized as legal entities their
international rights and obligations can
be found in treaties that are signed by
international organizations and they can
bring international claims and
international claims can also be brought
against them what about individuals
during the 20th century individuals
become more visible in international law
they become central focus of human
rights law as a separate discipline
individual criminal responsibility for
grave violations of international law
war crimes crimes against humanity is
being introduced and individuals finally
get direct access to courts does this
mean that individuals are subjects of
international law well in 1949 the
international law commissioned a body in
the United Nations has produced a survey
of international law and the following
can be found there there is nothing in
international law to prevent individuals
from acquiring directly rights under a
treaty
the obligations of international law
bind individuals directly regardless of
the law of their state so there are
international rights in duties present
and international legal personality a
number of international instruments have
recognized the procedural capacity of
the individual meaning that individuals
can turn to courts let's look closer so
individuals definitely have
international rights for example human
rights rights to life right a fair trial
they have international duties for
example a military during combat has a
duty to disobey a manifestly unlawful
order of the superior and individuals
are recognized holders of international
rights and duties meaning that they have
international Ingle personality
individuals also have the capacity to
bring international claims for example a
person can turn to the European Court of
Human Rights
now what about groups of individuals if
individuals are subjects of
international law then maybe groups of
individuals such as national liberation
movements revolutionary groups and other
non-state groups are also subject of
international law but here when we take
our checklist we're not that sure
whether such groups satisfy all criteria
and here it is relevant to look at
something that the international law
Commission has provided the
international legal personality of the
United Nations and of other
international organizations
call for a red finition of the
traditional rule Lingle personality is
no longer a postulate of scientific
doctrine it is accompanied by a
recognised contractual capacity in the
international sphere so maybe the old
checklist is not that relevant anymore
and we should bring a new criterion such
as the capacity to enter into
international relations but let's
proceed there are certain non-state
subjects that gained more recognition as
subjects of international law
such as international organizations
individuals and so on and there are
other subjects non-state subjects where
the scholars are still debating whether
they are indeed subjects of
international law such as NGOs
multinational corporations and terrorist
groups let's take some of them NGOs are
a way for individuals to communicate
with governments through nongovernmental
channels and certain powerful NGOs
indeed have the capacity to enter into
international relations and have an
effect on lawmaking
multinational corporations are also
quite relevant because large companies
today play a very important role on the
international arena and large businesses
are encouraged to adopt more responsible
and sustainable policies
thus we can come to the conclusion that
nongovernmental organizations and
multinational corporations although
they're not yet officially recognized
the subjects of international law indeed
play a very important role in
international law that was it for today
I thank you for your attention and I
hope this video has been useful and I
see you very soon
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