International law Rostam

indices imp portions pages

Articles Vienna Convention etc. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Treaties,

signed at Viema in1969'In85 articles, the Convention considers the

fundamental role of treaties in international relations and provides usefl guidance in
theinterpretation (Art. 3133)and mutual relation of intemational treaties, e.g. as to their
territorial (Art. 29)andtemporal (Art. 28, 30)scope of application. The Convention,
however, oniy applies to international treaties concluded between States and not to other
subjects of international Iaw (Art. 3)and thus its value for the present international legal
order is clearly limited. Fwtber, it isnoteworthy that the United States of America is not
among the 83 States that became parties to the Convention through ratification, accession or
successio
Intrasystemic confiicts can even be traced to one legal category, suchas specialisation
within
the reaim of civil law and, as a result, its proceeding hgmentation in torts law. Therefore,
hma dualist perspective, the two levels of law are equal andreflect the current situation
of
the legal order as a single system of law. Moreover, in a dynamic global society conflicts are
also likely to arise between state law and social quasi-legaI orders

Economics
2.1. TheCommercialSeaor as a Pioneer of "GIob&ationnglobal dynamism, with the
juridification
"globalisation what is it? Economic integration at a certain point reqd political integration,
which isintroduced through laws. Keeping in mind this genuine link, the following
paragraphs will - from a legal perspective - deal with the purely commercial activities as
reflected in the notions of "transnational law", transnational commercial law",
"internationa1 law of contracts", "law of international trade", "Droit du commerce
internationaf', or "new law merchant (lex mercatoria)".fJ3 Over the years the notion of [lex
mercatoria has gained wide acceptance. This great variety of notions is minored in the same
nurnber of definitions and is the cause for hot debate for more than three decades no^.'^
question of the existence of an independent law of a
proper Iaw merchant, or [ex mercatoria; in the periphery its scope, its legal character and
theoretical foundation are disputed."'' The lex mercatoria itself forms a farnily, comprising
in itself manysubcategories such asthelex petrolea, the [ex electronicu, the [ex
constructionis, the [ex maritinla, and the international law of con tract^?^ For this essay,
emphasis will be put on the unity of the legal systern, and therefore the lex mercatoria is
perceived as a revived conceptual mode1 of a new ius commune, a law cornmon to many
It is hm this vacuumthat the concept of a newlex mercatoria was boni. Given the vacuum
between two traditionally distinct areas of law, it might be legitimate for the moment to deny
the strict legal character of la mercatoria, or at least to perceive it as an independent ''third
legal order". A closer look at the constituting elements of the [exmercatona, however, might
shed some light on its factual character. As constituting elements, the following sources

serve: (1) public international taw; (2) uniform laws; (3) the general principles of law, (4) the
rules of international organisations; (5) customs and usages; (6) standard form contracts; (7)
reporting of arbitrai awards; (8) judicial decisions and jurisprudentid contriiutions; and (9)
pnvate international law.249 From this listing of constituting elements, hardly any doubts
concerning the legal character of the lex mercatoria are Iikely to appear. The ler mercatoria
even fidfils the classical standards of a legal order: it is normative, institutionalised, and
coercive." A mere comparison with the standards of national legal systems however would
begin with the wrong premise, because of the transcending supranational function of the lex 83
mercat~ria.~N' onetheless, it sufaces herefor the time being to indicate that des
originatng hmthe concept of a 'lex mercatoria' exist and that they areappliedLnlex
mercatoriain international practice is found in the work of international judicial organs
and especially in the work of international mixed arbitral tniunals resolving disputes arising
hmcontractual relationship 84
ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE
Q&A: International Criminal Court

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The International Criminal Court in The Hague has been a controversial addition to the global
justice system since it began operating in 2002. The court has been ratified by 121 countries but not by the US.
The BBC News website examines the main issues surrounding the court.
What is the court designed to do?
To prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes - genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes - committed anywhere in the world.
It is a court of last resort, intervening only when national authorities cannot or will not
prosecute.
Aren't there already several international courts?
Yes, but they either do different jobs or have a limited remit.
The International Court of Justice (sometimes called the World Court) rules on disputes
between governments. It cannot prosecute individuals.
The international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda do try individuals
for crimes against humanity, but only those crimes committed in those territories over a
limited time.
Those tribunals will eventually be wound up. The International Criminal Court however, is a
permanent body.

Are there any time limits on what it covers?

The court has no retrospective jurisdiction - it can deal only with crimes committed after 1
July 2002 when the 1998 Rome Statute came into force.
Additionally, the court has automatic jurisdiction only for crimes committed on the territory of
a state which has ratified the treaty; or by a citizen of such a state; or when the United Nations
Security Council refers a case to it.
What kind of cases is the court pursuing?
All of the cases currently open are in Africa - prompting some African leaders to say it is
biased.
The court's first verdict, in March 2012, was against Thomas Lubanga, the leader of a militia
in Democratic Republic of Congo. He was convicted of war crimes relating to the use of
children in that country's conflict and sentenced in July to 14 years.
The highest profile person to be brought to the ICC is Ivory Coast's former President Laurent
Gbagbo.
He faces four charges of crimes against humanity - murder, rape and other forms of sexual
violence, persecution and "other inhuman acts".
The charges relate to the violence that followed disputed elections in 2010.
In November 2010, a trial started of Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former DR Congo vice-president.
Mr Bemba - a fo