International Law and Conventional International Organizations - Assignment Example

International law 1. Primarily, a treaty can be defined as a written formal agreement between independent or sovereign states/countries. Additionally, a treaty can be between international organizations and nations. Sovereign nations have institutions that are mandated to sign or evaluate treaties. For example, in America, treaties are evaluated or negotiated via the executive branch. The executive branch incorporates the state department into the negotiations. As such, treaties are serious and complex legal actions both in domestic and international law. Once the treaties have been signed and become enforceable, they become part and parcel of international law. International protocol, agreement, pact, exchange of letters, convention or covenant are all synonyms for treaties (Alvarez, 2005). Therefore, all these types of agreements are considered to be treaties under international law. Thus, the rules applied to treaties are the same ones applied to these terminologies. On its basic form, a treaty is the same as a contract: willing parties have voluntarily assumed duties and obligations between or among themselves (Klabbers 87). Consequently, under international law, a party which does not oblige to the agreements is held liable. The subject coverage of treaties in recent times has expanded considerably (Milner 342). This is in line with the need for international promotion and protection of concepts such as education, human rights, environment, the global heritage and wildlife (Moore, Gerald K & Witold Tymowski, 2005). Additionally, treaties have been necessitated by the emergence of global security concerns such as terrorism. The UK Swiss confederation taxation cooperation agreement is a treaty between the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The agreement came into force on January 2013. The agreement clarified the relationship between Switzerland and the EUSA (EU savings agreement).The second treaty is the 1979 Egypt Israeli peace treaty. This agreement implied that the two nations agreed to recognize each other. As such, the treaty required the state of Israel to withdraw or remove its army from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. As a result, Egypt would allow Israel ships to pass through the Suez Canal. Lastly, the 2014 convention on the manipulation of sports competitions is among the latest treaties or agreements. The convention advocated by the council of Europe is aimed at fighting instances of match fixing in the world’s sports. Since treaties are non-permanent binding agreements, sovereign nations or international organizations can decide to end these agreements (Chodosh & Hiram 78). Treaties can be cancelled through withdrawal or via termination and suspension. States can withdraw from an agreement or treaty at any time. However, certain specific notification procedures have to be followed and adhered to. A party to a treaty can be suspended if the aforesaid party has failed to honor or follow its obligations (Finnemore 56). Treaty breaching can earn a party a permanent suspension or a temporary one depending on how the signatories to the treaty view the breach. 2. Chinkin defined international law as the set of regulations or rules that are generally accepted and regarded as binding between sovereign states (67). International law allows states and nations to have stable relationships. Unlike state laws which are applicable within a country’s boundaries, international law is applied to nations rather than to private citizens. However, national law can be elevated to become international law if treaties accord or delegate responsibilities to supranational tribunals. The ICC (international criminal court) is one such supranational tribunal. Consequently, positive international law is defined as the law of countries which is basically made via tacit or express agreement which are made between countries. An example of positive international law is the diplomatic immunity which is given to ambassadors. Positive International law originates from international researchers and decision makers evaluate and verify legal rules governing an academic discourses or legal dispute. Nevertheless, the institute of the international court of justice under article 38.1 identifies the three primary sources of positive international law: International customs, general principles and treaties (Fitzmaurice & Gerald, 1951). Also, scholarly writings and judicial decisions can act as subsidiary sources of positive international law. 3. Evans, Graham and Newnham (270) defined an international organization as any organization possessing an international presence, scope and membership. Primarily, there are two main categories of international organizations. These are the international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) The INGOs are made up of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) some of the organizations under this category include International Committee of the Red Cross, World Safeguard and Media Limited. The IGOs are mainly made up of independent states. Some of the bodies include the council of Europe (CoE), United Nations (UN), world trade organization (WTO) and lastly the European Union. The European Union is a supranational body. Also, Finnemore (1996) implied that International organizations are often classified into different unique categories. These categories include; a. Conventional international organizations These categories are made up of autonomous international non-governmental and governmental organizations which are not for profit (Koremenos 45). As such, due to their non profit characteristic, multinational organizations are excluded from this category. These organizations have members in at least three countries. Additionally, they do not favor any country in their operations but rather treat all their members equally. This category is made up of; Federations of international organizations: these organization group together at least three autonomous international bodies which are non-regional. The UN is in this category since it has specialized agencies which are umbrella members of the UN. Universal membership organizations: these organizations have members in at least 60 nations or in thirty states provided they have a balanced distribution between the continents. Regionally defined organizations: these not for profit organizations are limited to specific sub continental or continental regions. b. Other international organization category These are organizations which do not possess the characteristics of conventional international organizations. Therefore, they include; Special form organizations: This type includes foundations and funds, banks, training institutes, laboratories or libraries. Internationally oriented national organizations: these are national organizations which undertake various international concerns or activities such as relief, peace, research or development. It might also include national organizations which have established connections with international organizations. As such, organizations which have relations with the United Nations are classified under this group (Cox et al 123). c. Special type categories These organizations handle special issues or problems. They include; Multinational enterprises: this category includes governmental or non-governmental multinationals. These are basically profit making enterprises. National organization: this category includes bilateral intergovernmental institutions. Religious orders, secular institutes and fraternities: the category is made up of military, fraternal or religious orders. Due to their special decision making structures, a lot of organizations in this group cannot be categorized as international organizations. Work cited Alvarez, José E. International organizations as law-makers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Chinkin, Christine M. "The challenge of soft law: development and change in international law." International and Comparative Law Quarterly 38.04 (1989): 850-866. Print. Chodosh, Hiram E. "Neither treaty nor custom: the emergence of declarative international law." Tex. Int'l LJ 26 (1991): 87. Print. Cox, Robert W., Harold Karan Jacobson, and Gerard Curzon. The anatomy of influence: decision making in international organization. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973. Print. Evans, Graham, and Jeffrey Newnham. The Penguin dictionary of international relations. London: Penguin Books, 1998. Print. Finnemore, Martha. "International organizations as teachers of norms: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cutural Organization and science policy." International Organization 47.04 (1993): 565-597. Print. Finnemore, Martha. "National interests in international society." (1996): 445-460. Print. Fitzmaurice, Gerald G. "Law and Procedure of the International Court of Justice: Treaty Interpretation and Certain Other Treaty Points." Brit. YB Int'l L. 28 (1951): 1. Print. Klabbers, Jan. The concept of treaty in international law. Vol. 22. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1996. Print. Koremenos, Barbara, Charles Lipson, and Duncan Snidal. "The rational design of international institutions." International organization 55.04 (2001): 761-799. Print. Milner, Helen V. Interests, institutions, and information: Domestic politics and international relations. Princeton University Press, 1997. Print. Moore, Gerald K., and Witold Tymowski. Explanatory guide to the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. No. 57. IUCN, 2005.Print. Read More