Akehurst’s Modern Introduction to International Law, Ninth Edition
By Alexander Orakhelashvili
Detailed table of contents:
Preface xix
List of abbreviations xx
Glossary xxiii
Table of cases xxv
Table of treaties and declarations xl
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Defining international law 1
1.2 International law as law 5
1.3 Characteristics of international law 8
1.4 The theory of sovereignty and obligation 10
1.5 Newer developments in theory 13
1.6 The study of international law 16
1.7 Conclusion 16
2 History 18
2.1 Ancient period 18
2.2 The Middle Ages to the Peace of Westphalia 19
2.3 The nineteenth century: balance of powers and the Congress system 20
2.4 Colonisation and relations between European and non-European powers 21
2.5 The Western hemisphere 24
2.6 Developments after the First World War 25
2.7 The League of Nations and its failure 25
2.8 Developments after the Second World War 26
2.9 Decolonisation and changes in the composition of the international community 27
2.10 Attitudes of Third World States towards international law 27
2.11 Rule of law, multilateral institutions, and unilateralism 28
2.12 Conclusion 30
3 Sources of international law 32
3.1 General concept 32
3.2 Treaties 34
3.3 Custom 35
3.3.1 Basic elements 35
3 .3.2 The range of relevant acts and practice 38
( a) What States say and what States do 38
( b) Positive acts and omissions 39
( c) Action within the domestic legal sphere 40
( d) The element of generality 40
( e) The element of repetition 41
( f) “Instant” customary law 42
3 .3.3 The psychological element in the formation of customary law (opinio juris) 43
3 .3.4 Multilateral evidence of customary law 44
3 .4 General principles of law 48
3.5 Judicial decisions 49
3.6 Learned writers 51
3.7 “Soft” law 51
3.8 Equity 52
3 .9 The hierarchy of norms and sources 53
3.10 Jus cogens 55
3 .11 Codification and the progressive development of international law 58
4 International law and municipal law 60
4.1 Basic distinctions 60
4 .2 Dualist and monist theories 61
4 .3 The attitude of international law to municipal law 62
4 .4 The attitude of national legal systems to international law 63
4.4.1 Treaties 64
4 .4.2 General (customary) international law 69
4 .5 Public international law and private international law 72
4 .6 Act of State, justiciability 73
4.7 Conclusion 76
5 Creation and recognition of States 77
5.1 States 77
5 .2 Factual elements of statehood 78
5.2.1 Territory 78
5.2.2 Population 80
5.2.3 Government 81
5.3 Independence 82
5.3.1 General concept 82
5 .3.2 Attainment of independence 83
5 .3.3 Alienation of independence 85
5 .4 Territorial units within States (especially federal States) 88
5 .5 Legal requirements for statehood 89
5 .5.1 Secession, separation, dissolution 89
5 .5.2 Public order limits on State creation 91
5 .5.3 The primacy of entitlement over effectiveness 91
5.6 Identity and continuity of States 95
5.6.1 General concept 95
5.6.2 Germany 96
5.6.3 Vietnam 98
5.6.4 China and Taiwan 99
5.6.5 North and South Korea 100
5.6.6 The SFRY and its successors 101
5.6.7 Evaluation 103
5.7 Recognition of States and governments in international law 103
5.7.1 The basic concept 103
5.7.2 The effect of recognition of States by other States 104
5.7.3 Policies of not recognising and the duty
not to recognise 107
5.7.4 Conditional recognition 107
5.7.5 The legal consequences of recognition of States 108
(a) In international law 108
(b) In domestic law 109
5.7.6 Recognition of governments 110
5.7.7 Dejure and de facto recognition of States and governments 114
5.8 Conclusion 118
6 Legal personality of non-State entities 119
6.1 The essence of legal personality 119
6.2 International organisations 120
6.2.1 Basis for legal personality 120
6.2.2 Scope of legal powers and functionality 121
6.2.3 The notion of “supranationality” 123
6.3 Belligerents and insurgents 124
6.3.1 National liberation movements 125
6.4 Other relevant international entities 126
6.5 Individuals, companies, and non-governmental organisations 126
6.5.1 Individuals and companies 126
6.5.2 Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 128
6.6 Conclusion 129
7 Territory 131
7.1 The meaning of territorial sovereignty 131
7.2 Territorial relations not conferring or altering sovereignty 132
7.3 Principles regulating the determination of territorial sovereignty 135
7.3.1 Immemorial possession 135
7.3.2 Uti possidetis juris 135
7.3.3 Claims of territorial unity and contiguity 137
7.4 Modes of acquisition of territory 138
7.4.1 Title to territory: basic concept 138
7.4.2 Cession and treaty titles 140
7.4.3 Occupation 144
7.4.4 Effective display of State authority ( effectivités) 146
7.4.5 Prescription 149
7.4.6 Acquiescence, recognition, and estoppel 151
7.4.7 Dereliction and waiver 153
7.4.8 Polar regions and Antarctica 153
7.4.9 Operations of nature 154
7.4.10 Adjudication 155
7.4.11 Conquest 155
7.5 Remaining matters relevant in litigating territorial disputes 157
7.5.1 Evidence of title to territory (including maps) 157
7.5.2 Critical date 158
7.5.3 Inter-temporal law 159
7.6 Boundaries 160
7.7 Boundary rivers 161
7.8 Servitudes 162
7.9 Forms and ways of joint utilisation of transboundary
watercourses 165
7.10 Conclusion 166
8 The law of the sea 168
8.1 Development of the law of the sea 168
8.2 The nature of rules and regimes under UNCLOS 170
8.2.1 Bilateralism and derogations from the
multilateral regime 170
8.2.2 Preferential and historic rights 171
8.3 Land factors and sea factors 173
8.3.1 The status of a coastal State 173
8.3.2 Islands, rocks, and low-tide elevations 174
8.3.3 Coasts 176
8.3.4 Archipelagos 178
8.4 Internal waters 179
8.5 Territorial sea 180
8.5.1 Rights of the coastal State 180
8.5.2 The right of innocent passage 181
8.5.3 The width of the territorial sea 183
8.5.4 The line from which the territorial sea is measured 184
8.6 The contiguous zone 186
8.7 Exclusive fishery zones and exclusive economic zones 186
8.8 The continental shelf: development of the basic concept 188
8.9 Maritime boundaries 189
8.9.1 Normative framework 189
8.9.2 Basis for, and nature of, the entitlement to a maritime space 190
8.9.3 Single delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone 194
8.9.4 Content and elements of equitable delimitation 195
8.9.5 Land territory in contested maritime areas 202
8.9.6 Continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles 203
8.9.7 Evaluation 204
8.10 The high seas 204
8.10.1 The calculus of the rights of States 204
8.10.2 Interference with ships on the high seas 206
8.11 Enclosed or semi-enclosed seas 210
8.12 The deep seabed 210
9 Air space and outer space 213
9.1 Air space 213
9.1.1 Access to and overflight of national air space 213
9.1.2 Regulation of flights 217
9.2 Outer space 220
9.2.1 Basic rules and instruments 220
9.2.2 Assertion and development of State rights 222
9.2.3 Treaty mechanisms of State cooperation 224
9.3 The “common heritage of mankind” principle 226
10 State jurisdiction 228
10.1 Concept of jurisdiction 228
10.2 The essence of jurisdiction of national courts 231
10.2.1 General characteristics 231
10.2.2 Territorial principle and extraterritoriality 234
10.2.3 The nationality principle (active and passive) 235
10.2.4 The protective principle 236
10.2.5 Effects jurisdiction 236
10.2.6 The universality principle 237
10.2.7 The universal civil jurisdiction of national courts over human rights violations 241
10.3 Extradition 243
11 Immunity from jurisdiction 246
11.1 Basic concepts 246
1 1.2 Sovereign (or State) immunity: scope and sources of law 247
1 1.3 State immunity and the hierarchy of norms 253
11.4 Entities and persons entitled to immunity 255
11.4.1 The State and its subdivisions 255
11.4.2 Property interest and indirect impleading 256
11.4.3 State officials: immunity ratione materiae 257
11.4.4 State officials: immunity ratione personae 258
11.5 Immunity from execution and attachment of State property 260
1 1.6 Diplomatic relations, diplomatic immunity, and consular relations 261
11.6.1 Conduct of diplomatic relations 261
11.6.2 Diplomatic immunity from the jurisdiction of courts 263
11.6.3 Other diplomatic privileges and immunities 264
11.6.4 Consular relations and consular immunity 266
11.7 Immunities of international organisations 266
11.8 Waiver of immunity 268
12 Law of treaties 269
12.1 The concept of a treaty 269
12.2 Conclusion and entry into force of treaties 273
12.2.1 Drafting of a treaty 273
12.2.2 Consent to be bound by a treaty 274
12.2.3 Entry into force; rights and obligations before entry into force 276
12.2.4 Registration 277
12.3 Reservations to treaties 277
12.4 Application of treaties ( ratione loci, temporis, personae) 283
12.4.1 Territorial scope ( ratione loci) 283
12.4.2 Temporal scope (ratione temporis) 283
12.4.3 Treaties and third States (ratione personae) 284
12.5 The interpretation of treaties 284
12.6 Application of successive treaties relating to the same subject matter 286
12.7 Invalidity and termination of treaties 286
12.7.1 Grounds of invalidity 286
12.7.2 Competence to conclude treaties under municipal law and its effect on the validity of treaties 287
12.7.3 Termination of treaties 288
12.8 Consequences of invalidity or termination of a treaty 293
12.8.1 The consequences of invalidity of a treaty; void and voidable treaties 293
12.8.2 The consequences of termination of a treaty 294
12.8.3 The effect of outbreak of war or hostilities on a treaty 295
13 State responsibility 296
13.1 Introduction 296
13.1.1 The work of the International Law Commission (ILC) 296
13.1.2 Basic concepts of responsibility and liability 297
13.1.3 General law of responsibility and “self-contained regimes” 298
13.1.4 The doctrine of “abuse of rights” 299
13.2 Basis and attribution of State responsibility 301
13.3 Responsibility of a State owing it its presence in, or control of, another State’s territory 306
13.4 Action directed or controlled by the State 307
13.5 Aid and assistance 309
13.6 Circumstances precluding wrongfulness (defences) 311
13.7 Consequences of an internationally wrongful act 314
13.7.1 The injured State and reparation 314
13.7.2 Countermeasures 317
13.8 Responsibility for the acts of international organisations 318
14 State succession 320
14.1 Attempts of codification on State succession 320
14.2 The contested basic concept of State succession: “automatic succession” or a “clean slate”? 321
14.3 Differentials shaping or affecting State succession 323
14.3.1 Identity and continuity of States 323
14.3.2 Legality of territorial changes 325
14.3.3 The effect of notification and date of succession 326
14.3.4 Succession versus voluntary transmission of international obligations 327
14.4 Succession to treaties 329
14.4.1 The principle of “moving treaty boundaries” 329
14.4.2 Dissolution and unification of States 330
14.4.3 Automatic succession: human rights treaties 333
14.5 Membership in international organisations 335
14.6 International claims and State responsibility 339
14.7 Nationality 340
14.8 The treatment of property and contractual rights on succession 341
14.8.1 “Acquired rights” and private property 341
14.8.2 Public property 342
14.8.3 Contractual rights 343
14.8.4 Debts 343
14.9 Boundaries and other rights over territory 344
14.10 Conclusion 347
15 Protected persons and entities: nationality and individual rights 349
15.1 The essence of individual rights 349
15.2 Nationality 351
15.2.1 The concept of nationality 351
15.2.2 The initial State prerogative and its limits 352
15.2.3 Methods of acquisition and conferral of nationality 354
15.2.4 Loss of nationality 355
15.2.5 Dual or multiple nationality 357
15.2.6 International law limitations on the deprivation of nationality 357
15.2.7 Contestation of nationality decisions in relations between States 358
15.2.8 Statelessness 361
15.3 Rights of aliens regarding entry to, remaining in, and expulsion from a State 361
15.4 Treatment of foreign investment 363
15.4.1 Admission of foreign investments 363
15.4.2 The doctrine of “acquired rights” 364
15.4.3 International minimum standard 365
15.4.4 MFN clauses and national treatment 367
15.4.5 The concept of expropriation 368
15.4.6 Disguised expropriation 369
15.4.7 Calculation of compensation for expropriation 371
15.4.8 Expropriation of contractual rights 372
15.4.9 “Fair and equitable treatment” 373
15.4.10 “Full protection and security” 374
16 Protected persons and entities: human rights, group rights, and self-determination 375
16.1 Human rights: the basic concept 375
16.2 The United Nations human rights system 377
16.3 Regional human rights treaties 380
16.4 “Generations” of human rights; progressive realisation of rights 380
16.5 The standards of protection under international human rights law 383
16.5.1 General obligations under human rights treaties 383
16.5.2 Extraterritorial applicability of human rights treaties 383
16.5.3 Absolute and relative rights 385
16.5.4 Emergency derogations 387
16.5.5 The doctrine of equivalent protection 388
16.5.6 Overlapping and complementary protection: refugee rights and human rights 390
16.6 Group rights and non-discrimination 392
16.6.1 The essence of a “group” 392
16.6.2 Non-discrimination 393
16.7 Minorities and indigenous peoples 394
16.7.1 Minorities 394
16.7.2 Indigenous peoples 397
16.8 Self-determination 399
16.8.1 Entities entitled to self-determination 399
16.8.2 Colonial and non-colonial contexts 401
16.8.3 General law and unilateral claim or concession 402
16.8.4 Legal entitlement and processes of political transition 403
16.8.5 “Internal” and “external” self-determination 406
16.8.6 Disruptions to the exercise of the right to self-determination 406
16.9 Permanent sovereignty over natural resources 407
17 Protection of the environment 410
17.1 The scope and nature of international environmental law 410
17.2 The nature of rules and regimes 411
17.3 Bilateralism and community interest 412
17.4 Basic features of principal treaty instruments on environmental protection 414
17.4.1 General overview 414
17.4.2 The Convention on Climate Change 416
17.4.3 The 1972 Biodiversity Convention 418
17.4.4 Pollution of the seas 418
17.4.5 Hazardous waste 419
17.4.6 Other treaty regimes 420
17.5 Customary law and general principles of environmental law 422
17.5.1 General principles of State conduct and liability 422
17.5.2 General duty of prevention 422
17.5.3 Sustainable development 425
17.5.4 Precautionary principle 426
17.5.5 “Polluter pays” 427
17.5.6 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 428
17.6 Interaction of environmental law with other areas of international law 429
17.7 Conclusion 434
18 International economic relations 435
18.1 Mapping the area 435
18.2 The meaning of free trade 437
18.3 The WTO and international trade system 440
18.3.1 General framework 440
18.3.2 The GATT and other trade agreements on goods 441
(a) The overall framework of trade agreements 441
(b) Specific provisions on free trade and market protection 442
(c) Non-violation complaints 445
18.3.3 The agreement on services (GATS) 446
18.3.4 The agreement on intellectual property rights (TRIPS) 447
18.3.5 Exceptions and waivers in the WTO system 447
(a) The nature and relevance of waivers 447
(b) Exceptions invocable by States-parties 449
18.4 The framework for international financial organisations 452
18.4.1 The International Monetary Fund (IMF): institutional background 452
18.4.2 The reduced relevance of legal requirements for financial transactions 454
18.4.3 The Fund’s supervision of members’ compliance with its Articles of Agreement 455
18.4.4 The World Bank 459
19 International criminal justice 461
19.1 Individual international criminal responsibility: the basic concept 461
19.2 National prosecution 463
19.3 Prosecution before ad hoc and special international tribunals 466
19.3.1 Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals 466
19.3.2 The international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda 467
19.3.3 Special Court for Sierra Leone 471
19.3.4 Special Tribunal for Lebanon 472
19.4 International Criminal Court 472
19.4.1 Establishment and jurisdiction 472
19.4.2 Admissibility of cases and complementarity 474
19.5 Immunity of State officials before international criminal tribunals 476
19.6 Conclusion 479
20 Use of force 481
20.1 Lawful and unlawful wars: developments before 1945 481
20.2 The prohibition of the use of force in the United Nations Charter 483
20.2.1 General scope 483
20.2.2 Territorial claims and disputes 485
20.2.3 Armed protection of nationals abroad 485
20.2.4 Armed reprisals 486
20.3 Self-defence 488
20.3.1 Basic scope of the right 488
20.3.2 Self-defence against attacks on ships and aircraft 490
20.3.3 Attacks carried out by non-State actors 491
20.3.4 Necessity and proportionality 494
20.3.5 Collective self-defence 495
20.4 Civil wars 496
20.5 Intervention by invitation 498
20.6 “Humanitarian intervention” 500
20.7 Conclusion 502
21 Laws applicable to war and armed conflict 504
21.1 Sources and development of humanitarian law 505
21.2 Concept of war and armed conflict 507
21.3 The applicability of international humanitarian law 508
21.3.1 General aspects 508
21.3.2 Laws of war and aggressor discrimination 509
21.3.3 Interaction of humanitarian law with human rights norms 510
21.4 Classification of conflicts; civil wars 511
21.5 Wars of national liberation 517
21.6 Belligerent rights 518
21.7 Combatants and protected persons under IHL and human rights law 520
21.8 Lawful and unlawful means of waging war 523
21.9 The principle of distinction 527
21.10 Nuclear weapons 529
21.11 Belligerent occupation 531
21.12 The law of neutrality and economic uses of maritime warfare 534
21.13 Reprisals 537
22 The United Nations and peace and security 539
22.1 The normative foundations of the United Nations 539
22.2 Membership 541
22.3 The Security Council 542
22.4 The General Assembly 546
22.5 Overlapping competence of the Security Council and the General Assembly 546
22.6 Pacific settlement of disputes under the United Nations
Charter (Chapter VI) 547
22.7 The statutory basis and requirements for collective security and enforcement action under Chapter VII 548
22.8 The practice of the UN with regard to Chapter VII enforcement 551
22.8.1 Rhodesia and South Africa 551
22.8.2 The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq 552
22.8.3 The Kurdish crisis and the 2003 Iraq invasion 554
22.8.4 Somalia 555
22.8.5 Rwanda 557
22.8.6 Haiti 558
22.8.7 Former Yugoslavia 559
22.8.8 Libya 562
22.9 Other Security Council action under Chapter VII and its effects 562
22.9.1 Post-conflict governance 562
22.9.2 The scope and impact of economic sanctions 563
22.9.3 Targeted sanctions and interference with individuals’ rights 563
22.9.4 Piracy and migrant smuggling 565
22.10 UN peacekeeping 565
22.10.1 The basic concept of peacekeeping and its evolution within the UN Charter framework 565
22.10.2 The first United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East (UNEF) 567
22.10.3 The United Nations force in the Congo (ONUC) 568
22.10.4 The United Nations force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) 569
22.10.5 Subsequent forces in the Middle East 570
22.11 Conclusion 571
23 Settlement of disputes 573
23.1 General background 573
23.2 Diplomatic methods of dispute settlement 574
23.2.1 Negotiations 574
23.2.2 Good offices and mediation 575
23.2.3 Fact-finding and inquiry 576
23.2.4 Conciliation 577
23.3 The International Court of Justice 578
23.3.1 Composition and procedure 578
23.3.2 Jurisdiction in contentious cases 579
23.3.3 Jurisdiction under the Optional Clause 582
23.3.4 The absent third-party doctrine (the Monetary Gold principle) 584
23.3.5 Provisional measures 585
23.3.6 Advisory opinions 588
23.4 Arbitration 589
23.5 Special tribunals for settling international disputes 590
23.5.1 The Iran–United States Claims Tribunal 590
23.5.2 Adjudication within the WTO system 592
23.5.3 Dispute settlement under human rights treaties 593
23.5.4 Settlement of disputes under UNCLOS 594
23.6 Admissibility of claims before international tribunals 595
23.6.1 Nationality of claims 595
23.6.2 Exhaustion of local remedies 598
23.7 Applicable law 603
23.8 Binding force, interpretation, and revision of judgments 605
Index 607