ANGELES UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

SCHOOL OF LAW

Chet J. Tan, Jr.

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
Second Semester 2013-14
COURSE OUTLINE*

Adapted from the Course Outline of Dean Raul C. Pangalangan. (used with permission)

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I.

Introduction
J.G. BERNAS, S.J., INTRODUCTION
(2009),
ch. 1-2

TO

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW

What is international law?

Sources of international law
Article 38 and 59, Statute of the International Court of
Justice (ICJ)
1. Primary
2. Subsidiary
Cases:
Nicaragua v. United States, 1986 I.C.J. 14
Filartiga v. Pea-Irala, 630 F.2d 876
II.

Customary International Law

BERNAS, ch. 2
Cases:
Case of the SS Lotus, PCIJ Ser. A., No. 10 (1927)
Paquete Habana Case, 175 U.S. 677
Fisheries Case (United Kingdom v. Norway), 1951 I.C.J. 116
Nicaragua v. US, supra
Kuroda v. Jalandoni, 83 Phil 171
Borovsky v. Commissioner, 90 Phil 107
Meijoff v. Director of Prisons, 90 Phil 70
Haw Pia v. China Banking, 80 Phil. 604
opinion juris sive necessitates
Mijares v. Ranada, 455 SCRA 397 (2005)

Hard law and Soft law

Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the
Philippines v. Duque
535 SCRA 265 (2007)
III.

General Principles of Law, jus cogens and obligations

erga omnes
BERNAS, ch. 2
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Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), art. 53-54

Cases:
The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial (1945-56)
Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company (Second
Phase) (1962)
Case Concerning East Timor (Portugal v. Australia) (1991)
Genocide Convention Case (Bosnia and Herzegovina v.
Yugoslavia) (Preliminary Objections) (1996)
Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic
Republic of the Congo v. Rwanda) (2006)
IV.

Treaties
BERNAS, ch. 3
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969)
UN Charter, art. 103
CONST., art. VIII, sec. 5(2) (a)
CONST., art VII sec. 21
E.O. 459, November 25, 1997
pacta sunt servanda
Cases:
Nuclear Tests Case (Australia v. France and New Zealand v.
France) (1975)
Texaco v. Libya (1977)
Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v. Slovakia) (1997)
Reservations to the Genocide Convention (1951)
Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran (US v. Iran)
Gonzales v. Henchanova, 9 SCRA 230 (1963)
Abbas v. COMELEC, 179 SCRA 287
Secretary of Justice v. Lantion 343 SCRA 377
Guerreros Transport Services v. Blaylock 71 SCRA 621
(1976)
Tolentino v. Secretary of Finance, 253 SCRA 630
Agustin v. Edu, 88 SCRA 195
International School Alliance v. Quisumbing, 333 SCRA 13
Marcos v. Manglapus, 177 SCRA 668
Mayor Simon v. Commission on Human Rights, 229 SCRA 117
Pimentel v. Exec. Secretary, G.R. No. 158088, 462 SCRA 622

V.

Treaties and Executive Agreements

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BERNAS, ch. 3
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), art. 2(1)(a)
CONST. art. XII, sec. 21
Memorandum Circular No. 89
Cases:
Dames and Moore v. v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654 (excerpt)
USAFFE Veterans v. Treasurer, 105 Phil. 1030
Commissioner of Customs v. Eastern Sea Trading, 3 SCRA
351 (1961)
Bayan v. Zamora, 342 SCRA 449 (2000)
VI.

International Law and Domestic Legal Orders

BERNAS, ch. 4
Doctrine of incorporation
CONST., art. II, sec. 2
Gonzales v. Hechanova, supra.
lex posteriori derogate lex priori
Abbas v. COMELEC, supra.
Secretary of Justice v. Lantion, supra.
CONST. art XVIII
Bayan v. Zamora, supra.
Lim v. Exec. Sec G.R. No. 151445, 380 SCRA 739
Reyes v. Bagatsing, 125 SCRA 553
Taada v. Angara, 272 SCRA 18 (1997)
CONST. art. XII, sec. 20
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), art. 2
In re Garcia, 2 SCRA 984
Secretary of Justice v. Lantion, 322 SCRA 160
Cases:
Trajano v. Marcos, 978 F 2nd 493 (1992) (Court of Appeal,
Ninth Circuit)
Nicolas v. Romulo, G.R. No 175888, Feb. 11, 2009
Pimentel v. Exec. Secretary, supra.
Bayan Muna v. Secretary Romulo, G.R. No. 159618, February
1, 2011

VII.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

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BERNAS, ch. 13
How does the ICJ acquire jurisdiction?
Statute of the ICJ, art. 36
Limitations on the jurisdiction of the ICJ
Statute of the ICJ, art. 34 and 36
Advisory Opinions
Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (Advisory Opinion) excerpt
Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Kosovo (Advisory
Opinion) (2010)
Cases:
Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (Advisory
Opinion)
LaGrand (Germany v. United States)
Lockerbie Case (Request for the Indication of Provisional
Measures) (1992)
VIII.

International Legal Personality

BERNAS, ch. 5-6
UN Charter
Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United
Nations, ICJ Reports
Admission to Membership, I.C.J. Reports
UN G.A. Resolution 1514 (1960), Declaration on the Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples
UN G.A. Resolution 1803 (1962), Permanent Sovereignty
over Natural Resources
UN G.A. Resolution 2625 (1970), Declaration of Principles of
International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and
Cooperation Among States in Accordance with the Charter
of the United Nations
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
and International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR), common article 1
Optional Protocol to the ICCPR
General Comment No. 12, Self-Determination
Case Concerning East Timor, supra
1949 Geneva Conventions, Reservations by the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam (1973)
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State Sovereignty
The Island of Las Palmas Case, 2 Report of International
Arbitration Awards 839 (1928)
Trail Smelter Arbitration (see BERNAS, at 138-139)
Taada v. Angara, supra.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, art. 194
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,
Principle 21
Recognition of states
Recognition of governments
Recognition of belligerency
Stateless persons (definition and consequences)
Convention in Relation to the Status of Stateless Persons
(1954)
Convention on the Conflict of Nationality Laws (1930)
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961)
IX.

State Responsibility
BERNAS, ch. 11
ILC Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for
Internationally Wrongful Acts
Cases:
Corfu Channel Case, ICJ Reports
United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran, ICJ
Reports
Nottebohm (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala), ICJ Reports
Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, supra
Case Concerning East Timor, supra
Velasquez-Rodriguez v. Honduras, Inter-American Court of
Human Rights
Asian Agricultural Products v. Sri Lanka, 30 ILM 577 (1991),
ICSID
Dames and Moore v. Regan, supra.
Principle of Attribution

X.

State Immunities
BERNAS, ch. 10
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Independence and Equality of States

Republic of Indonesia v. Vinzon, 405 SCRA 126 (2003)
Minucher v. Court of Appeals, 397 SCRA 244 (2003)
Absolute immunity and restrictive immunity
Holy See v. Rosario, 238 SCRA 524
United States v. Ruiz, 136 SCRA 487;
Waiver
Froilan vs. Pan Oriental Shipping Co., 95 Phil. 905
Execution
Dexter & Carpenter v. Kunglig 43 F2d 705
Diplomatic Immunity
R.A. 75, sec. 4
Optional Protocols to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, art. 1, 5, 32, 41,
43-45, 49-50, 53, 58, 60, 62-63, 66
Minucher v. Court of Appeals, 397 SCRA 244 (1992)
World Health Organization v. Aquino, 48 SCRA 242 (1972)
Schneckenburger v. Moran, 63 Phil. 249
governmental or sovereign acts (acta jure imperii) and
non-governmental, propriety or commercial acts
(acta jure gestiones)
U.S. v. Ruiz, 136 SCRA 487
XI.

International Protection for Human Rights

BERNAS, ch. 12
Universal Declaration on Human Rights
ICCPR (particularly art. 26)
ICESCR
Convention of the Rights of the Child, art. 6(1) and 24 (2)(f)
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
against Women, art. 10(h), 12(2) and 14(b)
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide
Torture
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Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or

Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
ICCPR, art. 2 and 7
R.A. 9745 (Anti-Torture Act of 2009)
Aut Dedere Aut Judicare
CAT, art. 7
Geneva Convention (I), art. 49
Geneva Convention (II), art. 50
Geneva Convention (III), art. 129
Geneva Convention (IV), art. 146
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
Republic Act No. 9372 (Human Security Act)
Universal Jurisdiction
BERNAS, at 157-167
XII.

The Use of Force in International Law

BERNAS, ch. 14-15
UN Charter, art. 2(4) and 42
Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and
Against Nicaragua (1986 ICJ Rep. 14)
Exceptions to the prohibition against the use of force
UN Charter, art. 42, 51, and 53
The UN Security Council
UN Charter, art. 4 and 43
Self-defense, generally
UN Charter, art. 51
Self-defense vis--vis non-state actors
Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (Advisory Opinion) - excerpt
War
The International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Tribunal),
Judgment
Aggression
UNGA Resolution 3314
The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia: The
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Decision of the Appeals Chamber on Tadic Case, 45 ICLQ

691
Neutralization
Neutrality
Case:
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
XIII.

Law of Armed Conflict (International Humanitarian

Law)
BERNAS, ch. 15
1949 Geneva Conventions, Common Articles 2 and 3
1977 Protocol I and Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions
R.A. 9851 (Philippine Act on Crimes Against International
Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against
Humanity)
Core Principles
1. Distinction
Protocol I, art. 48
2. Proportionality
Protocol I, art. 51.5 (b) and 57.2 (b)
3. Unnecessary Suffering
Protocol I, art. 35.2 and 6
4. Military Necessity
Hague Regulation IV (1907), Art. 23 (g)
The Martens Clause
Geneva Convention (III), art. 142
Limits on Means and Methods of Warfare
Protocol I, art. 35
What persons or objects may lawfully be attacked?
Protocol I, art. 48
Civilians directly participating in hostilities
Protocol I, art. 51.3
Reprisal
Protocol I, art. 20
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Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees

1. International
Geneva Convention (III), art. 4-5
Protocol I, art. 75
2. Non-International
Geneva Conventions Common Article 3
Protocol I, art. 75
Protocol II
Mercenaries
Geneva Convention (III), art. 4
Protocol I, art. 47
Case:
United States v. Manuel Antonio Noriega
XIV.

International Criminal Law

BERNAS, ch. 15, pp. 265-266
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisdiction
Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations
to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity (1968)
The International Criminal Court
1. Scope
Rome Statute, art. 12-13
2. Temporal Jurisdiction
Rome Statute, art. 11
3. What may be prosecuted?
a. War Crimes
Grave Breaches of the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Convention (I), art. 49-50
Geneva Convention (II), art. 50-51
Geneva Convention (III), art. 129-30
Geneva Convention (IV), art. 146-147
b. Genocide
Genocide Convention, art. 2
c. Crimes Against Humanity
Rome Statute, art. 7
d. Aggression
Rome Statute, art. 8bis
4. Who may be prosecuted?
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Rome Statute, art. 121 and 124

5. Complementarity
Rome Statute, art. 17
Cases:
Justice Robert Jacksons Opening Statement before the
International Military Tribunal
The International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Tribunal),
Judgment, supra.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo
War Crimes Tribunal), Indictment
Yamashita v. Styer
U.S. v. William M. Calley, Jr.
Attorney-General of Israel v. Adolf Eichmann (summary)
Prosecutor v. Kanyabashi
XV.

Extradition
BERNAS, ch. 9, pp. 174-191
Double Criminality
Attentat Clause
Principle of Specialty
Distinguished from Deportation
Predominance or Proportionality test
Cleugh v. Strakosch, 109 F2d 330
Wright v. Court of Appeals, 235 SCRA 341
Secretary of Justice v. Lantion, supra.

XVI.

Territory
BERNAS, ch. 7
Const, art. I.
Treaty on the Principles Governing the Activities of States in
the Exploration and Use of Outer-Space, Including the
Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
Liability for Damage Caused by Spaced Objects Convention
(1972)
Registration of Objects in Space Convention (1974)
Moon Treaty (1979)
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Cases:
The Island of Las Palmas (Or Miangas), supra.
The Clipperton Island Case
Case Concerning the Legal Status of Eastern Greenland
Case Concerning the Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso /Mali)
Land and Maritime Boundary (Cameroon v. Nigeria)
Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan
(Indonesia/Malaysia)
Eritrea v. Yemen
XVII.

Law of the Sea: Maritime Boundary Delimitation and

the Global Commons
BERNAS, ch. 8
R.A. 3046, as amended by R.A. 5446
R.A. 9522
Presidential Decree No. 1596
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Washington
Territorial Sea
UNCLOS, art. 2, 3 and 14
Archipelagic State
UNCLOS, art. 121
Archipelagic Waters
UNCLOS, art. 49(1)
Internal waters
Contiguous zone
UNCLOS, art. 33
Exclusive Economic Zone
UNCLOS, art. 56-57
Continental shelf
Right of Innocent Passage
UNCLOS, art. 18(2), 19(2) and 45(2)
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Flag State
UNCLOS, art. 91
Flag of Convenience
Western Philippine Sea
Cases:
Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case, supra.
Magallona v. Executive Secretary
-oOo-

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