Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
International Human Rights Law on General 1. Identified set of legal issues developed by international
human rights bodies which are difficult to reconcile with
International Law traditional international law, because they reflect interests
of individuals rather than states
- At the International Law Association's 2004 Conference in 2. Considered whether these concepts affected general
Berlin, the Executive Council entrusted the Committee on international law, OR remained lex specialis → This was
International Human Rights Law and Practice, with the task of done by examining the practice of the ICJ and the ILC,
preparing a report on the relationship between general who have explicitly borrowed concepts and findings from
international law and international human rights law. human rights bodies.
→ THIS is that report
Committee is well aware that the sruvey in the present report is
- 2 APPROACHES: incomplete. Committee considers the impact of international
FRAGMENTATION APPROACH: Emphasis on the human rights law on general international law highly desirable to
special/distinctive nature of international human rights law, soften the predominantly state-centered nature in order to
assumes that the rules and principles of GENERAL international accommodate international obligations in the field of human
law are not applicable to it. rights.
RECONCILIATION APPROACH: To take as the point of
departure, that international human rights law is part of general 2 CONCEPTS that strongly influence the tructure of international
international law, and that the two branches of law should be obligations:
reconciled with each other as much as possible.
OBLIGATIONS erga omnes:
- The Committee chose the Reconciliation approach, as it is in – concept introduced as obiter dictum in the Barcelona
conformity with international practice. Traction case, as a response to widespread criticism of
- International human rights courts and UN human rights treaty ICJ's refusal to recognize the jus standi of Ethiopia and
bodies have often relied on norms of general international law. Liberia in the South West Africa cases.
THE REVERSE PROCESS however, is a topic less explored & more – The ICJ suggested that the obligation not to commit or
interesting tolerate racial discrimination has an erga omnes character
- INT'L HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: inclusive of any international and therefore may be invoked by any state.
norm capable of conferring rights and duties directly on – ILC: Article 48 of Articles on Responsibility of States for
individuals regardless of nationality, including under
Internationally Wrongful Acts: any State other than an
international humanitarian law and international criminal
injured State, is entitled to invoke the responsibility
law.
of another state... if (a) the obligation breached is
owned to a GROUP OF STATES including that State,
WHAT IS GENERAL INTERNATIONAL LAW? → The opposite of
and is established for the protection of a collective
special international law (which governs particular topics)
interest of the group; or (b) the obligation breached
- Defining characteristic of 21st century: Emergence of individual
is owed to the international community as a whole.
and other non-state actors. But what exactly is their impact on
the SUBSTANCE of international law?
PEREMPTORY NORMS/Jus Cogens: Treaty reservations:
– In traditional international law, it is all based on consent TRADITIONAL: state is bound only to the extent that it has
and thus there can be no hierarchy of obligations; thus, consented to be bound → problematic, as human rights treaties
there is no special place for commuity values tha ttrump create obligations of a non-reciprocal nature which establish
other norms. rights for individuals. PAGE 11
– Art 52 of the Vienna Convention: A treaty is void if at its
conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general
international law.
– ILC: Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally
Wrongful Acts: States shall cooperate to bring to an end,
any serious breach arising under a peremptory norm of
general international law.
– Applied not only by it'l human rights courts but also other
courts.