International Dispute Resolution Methods

Disputes

• Disputes are disagreements on points of law, fact, or conflicting interests between two or more people.
• Disputes can be caused by omissions, intentional breaches, different approaches, or changes in circumstances.
• The UN Charter mandates settling international disputes peacefully.
• States should negotiate, inquire, mediate, conciliate, arbitrate, or use other peaceful methods to resolve international disputes to prevent endangering international peace and security.

Means to Resolve Disputes

• Diplomatic methods include negotiation, bilateral or multilateral commissions, and ad hoc commissions.
• Negotiation is an obligation, not just a conduct, requiring a clear result.
• Treaties like the NPT (1970) may mandate negotiations before other dispute resolution means.
• ICJ's advisory opinion on the legality of nuclear weapons (1996) outlines obligation to achieve a specific result, not just conduct.
• Mediation and Good Offices involve third parties to facilitate communication and agreement.
• Good offices are impartial offers for dialogue between conflicting states.

Mediation and Good Offices

• Third parties facilitate communications and solutions between disputing countries.
• These could be a single state, a group of states, individuals, or international organization bodies.
• Third parties need to be acceptable to all involved parties and facilitate communication/assistance for peaceful settlement.
• Good offices are typically completed once negotiations begin.

Legal Means to Resolving Disputes

• Arbitration involves binding agreements for dispute settlement, with assigned procedures, judges, and applicable laws.
• It is often detailed in treaties.
• Arbitration can be ad hoc, where there is no prior organization or a permanent institution for arbitration.
• A Permanent Arbitration Institution (established in 1899) is a permanent court of arbitration.
• Judicial settlement involves international courts, like the ICJ, handling state-related disputes based on consent.

Regional Dispute Settlement Mechanisms

• African Union mechanisms include the Peace and Security Council (2002) and ad hoc mediation; regional bodies facilitate arbitration and mediation.
• The Organization of American States (OAS) includes peacekeeping missions.
• European cooperation includes the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration (1992) addressing security and political disputes.

Economic Settlement Mechanisms

• International disputes can also be resolved economically by using mechanisms like ICSID (World Bank) for investor-state disputes or WTO for trade disputes.

The International Court of Justice

• ICJ is the United Nations' principal judicial body, resolving state disputes and providing advisory opinions on legal questions.
• Its predecessor is the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) established in 1920.
• The ICJ ensures peaceful dispute settlement, acting as a 'guardian of legality' for international law.
• Judges are selected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for 9-year terms.
• Judges must meet high moral character and competence standards.

Types of Jurisdiction

• ICJ has contentious and advisory jurisdictions. Contentious involves disputes between states that consent. Advisory is non-binding opinions for UN bodies.

Legal Basis

• International treaties, conventions, and customary international law are the primary sources the ICJ relies on.

Nature of Legal Disputes

• Legal disputes need clearly opposing views between parties.

Provisional Measures

• Temporary steps to prevent harm during a case, like those in the Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua (2013) case.

Evidence

• Case evidence includes documents, expert testimony, and reports.

Rulings

• ICJ rulings are binding and final (Article 94, UN Charter).

Nature and Importance of Treaties

• Treaties form the foundation for jurisdiction and rulings (e.g., the Genocide Convention).

Right to Self Defence

• States have a right to self-defense when attacked, but the use of force in such circumstances must be proportionate and necessary.

Aid to Legitimate Authorities

• This involves a collective security approach, where states may intervene, but need to seek the UNSC's authorization.

Humanitarian Intervention

• Humanitarian actions can be undertaken by states or the international community, but they typically need UNSC approval.

Cases and Treaties

• UN Charter and related declarations and conventions establish peaceful dispute resolution principles.

Individual Criminal Responsibility

• International conventions establish individual criminal responsibility for violations like genocide and war crimes.
• The convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide from 1949 defines the act. War crimes, including violations of laws and customs of war and crimes against humanity are also outlined.

Crimes Against Humanity

• These are inhumane acts committed against civilian populations, during or prior to a war, and based on political, racial, or religious persecution.

Aggression

• Aggression is the initiation of a war of aggression or violation, like those established in Nuremberg Charter.

International Criminal Courts and Tribunals

• The UN established tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda to prosecute international crimes.
• Similar arrangements exist for smaller crimes and regional conflicts.

Humanitarian Law

• Humanitarian law sets out rules and principles protecting populations during armed conflict.
• This timeline begins with hostilities and extends to peaceful resolutions.

1864 Geneva Convention

• The first international treaty addressing humanitarian principles in armed conflicts.

Hague Conventions

• Focus on laws of war, neutral states, and peaceful settlement of disputes.

Geneva Conventions (1949)

• Comprehensive protections for people suffering from war, including wounded or sick in armed forces, at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians during wartime.

Geneva Protocols (1977)

• Extended protections to specific situations like chemical weapons.

Chemical Weapons Convention

• International agreement banning chemical weapons.

Anti-personnel Mines Convention

• Banning the use of these weapons.

Key Principles of IHL

• Principles include humanity, distinction, proportionality, and necessity

Types of Armed Conflicts

• International Armed Conflicts involve states, and non-International conflicts involve non-state actors.

Enforcement and Accountability

• UN-related mechanisms such as the ICC, ICRC, and the use of humanitarian law help with international conflict enforcement.

Human Rights

• Human rights are inherent rights, and international treaties ensure protections like life, freedom, and education.
• Enforcement mechanisms (UN Human Rights Council) exist to monitor and ensure compliance. Vulnerable groups (women, children, and persons with disabilities) have special conventions to address their unique needs.

Rights that Cannot be Derogated

• Rights that cannot be suspended even during emergencies.

Environmental Law

• Treaties exist to ensure protection and preserve the environment. State responsibilities include protection, preservation, and measures limiting harm.

Prevention of Transboundary Harm

• International law mechanisms, such as the Draft articles on Prevention of Transboundary Harm from Hazardous Activities, aim at preventing transboundary harm within jurisdictions.

Pollution

• Substances or heat in environmental media which are undesirable. Air, water, and land pollution are addressed.

Water Pollution

• Regulations relate to international watercourses. International treaties and conventions control maritime activities.

Ultra-Hazardous/Nuclear Safety

• Acts with extreme risk of harm are covered in this area.

Outer Space

• Outer space treaties, like those in 1967, address space debris.

Climate Change

• The 1997 Kyoto Protocol and other agreements address global warming.