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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 International Law
| Following the launch of Sputnik in October 1957, a whole new frontier was opened up for exploration, exploitation and international law. What is the acronym for the United Nations committee that quickly formed in response? | History of International Law
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UNCOPUOS. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was established in 1958 on encouragement from the United States. It eventually became a permanent committee and still exists, now with over 100 member countries. An interesting feature of UNCOPUOS is rather than taking votes, it tries to make all its decisions on consensus.
| One of the main purposes of the United Nations is to prevent future wars. Which provision of the UN charter actually prohibits the use of force in international relations? | History of International Law
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Article 2(4). It is article 2(4). Article 51 provides the exception of self defence (which is frequently invoked), Article 11 grants the General Assembly the ability to put situations of concern on the Security Council agenda, and Article 1(2) refers to self determination.
| Cassese notes that there were two dominant plans regarding how the United Nations was going to preserve world peace. Whose theory has become dominant in the structures of the UN? | History of International Law
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The United States of America. The United States Plan was championed by US Secretary of State Cordell Hull and President Franklin Roosevelt. It called for, among other things, the dismantlement of colonial empires, the establishment of a universal organisation of "peace loving nations", and a global police role for the leading victors of WWII: the UK, France, USA, China and Russia.
San Francisco, USA. The UN Charter was signed by 50 nations and forms the basis for the modern system of public international law.
| Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan in 1853 marked a watershed in Japanese history in many respects. More significant to the development of international law in Japan was the arrival and tenure of which American Consul-General? | History of International Law
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Townsend Harris. Townsend Harris gave instruction to the Japanese in international law. This was, incidently, the first European legal concept to be introduced to Japan. His journal from this time was compiled and published in 1930 by M.E. Cosenza. The other choices are incidentally all names connected with the film "The Last Samurai".
| The spread of international law to the world was facilitated by the Ching Dynasty ordering the translation of what text into Chinese in 1864? | History of International Law
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Elements of International Law. "Elements of International Law" was written by Henry Wheaton in 1836. The translation was done by William Martin, an American Missionary. It is a particularly interesting translation because rather than being word perfect, it was compressed into a set of basic ideas and commentaries so as to be more convenient for use by government officials.
| Who was the young Dutch lawyer hired by the Dutch East India company to prepare their defence for the capture of the Santa Catalina? | History of International Law
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Hugo de Groot. Hugo de Groot (or Hugo Grotius), was later to become known as "the Father of International Law". The rest of the choices were famous Dutchmen. Spinoza was a philospher, Hooft a poet and playwright, and Stuyvesant an early governer of New York.
| Another event that sparked a rapid development in the international law was the capture of the Portuguese galleon, the Santa Catalina, by a ship from the Dutch East India company in 1601. This was argued to be a breach of the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas because the Dutch vessel was in Portuguese waters. Where did the incident take place? | History of International Law
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In the Straits of Malacca. The Straits of Malacca were argued to be a closed, private sea, and hence the sole property of the Portuguese under the Treaty of Tordesillas.
| The fall of the Roman Empire was a serious blow to the development of international law until the late 11th Century. What event sparked its resurgence? | History of International Law
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The discovery of a complete copy of Justinian's Code in Pisa. The discovery of Justinian's comprehensive text led to the establishment of a highly influential School of Law in Bologna.
Ius gentium. "Ius gentium" is generally translated as "the law of nations" and prescribed how citizens who lived in the empire should be treated. The "ius civile" or municipal law applied in the state of Rome itself. The "lex talionis" is the law of punishment and retribution, and "dominium" is the concept of ownership.
| The origins of modern public international law can be traced directly from the work of Roman Jurisconsults in the 2nd Century AD. Whose work was particularly influencial in providing an early distinction between civil and international law? | History of International Law
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Gaius. It was Gaius, the Aristotelean scholar who in the "Institute of Gaius" provided this early distinction. His work was later used and reinforced by Justinian in the creation of his famous Code.
| One of the first examples of a diplomatic mission is found in the Bible. Which Israelite king was visited by the Queen of Sheba? | History of International Law
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King Solomon. The story of the arrival of the Queen of Sheba can be found in the 1st Book of Kings, Chapter 10. Ancient accounts describing the protocols for diplomacy were also produced by the ancient Greeks, Indians and Chinese.
| Some say international law is worthless, as it is not enforceable. Is international law 'real' law? | International Law
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Yes. One important characteristic of law is its enforceability. If countries break international common law or international treaties, there is no higher force to punish them. However, there exists a set of common principles between the nations like 'treaties are to be served (pacta sunt servanda)', in case of breach of which the 'rogue nations' will be held in contempt by the nations among which the consensus exists. Thus international law is enforceable to a certain extent (although much lesser than national law), and possesses all the qualities of law.
| Are declarations of the General Assembly of the United Nations international law? | International Law
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No. The General Assembly convenes once a year, usually on the third Tuesday in September. Its resolutions and statements are not binding international law. They can however become common law if generally accepted over a long time frame. On the other hand, the resolutions of the UN Security council are binding law to all member states (Art 25 UN charter).
In case of self-defense OR if authorized by the UN security council. User of force is generally prohibited by the UN charter Art 2 (3+4):
(3) All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
(4) All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
However, in case of collective or individual self-defense against an actual or imminent armed attack, OR when the Security Council has directed or authorized use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security (as in the case of the Korean War and the First Gulf War), use of force is permitted. In both cases actual attacks had been carried out before the self-defense actions had been approved and concerted by the UN.
| Ius ad bellum - the right to wage war, has been officially abolished in which year? | International Law
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1928. It was abolished by the Kellogg-Briand pact of 1928. Before war was widely seen as a 'continuation of politics (Politik) by other means' (Clausewitz). The signing parties declared in article 1 that they 'condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce it, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another'. Ring any bells in the Bush administration?
| What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state in its first Article? | International Law
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All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.. The declaration, made in 1948, played a very important part in recognizing individuals, not only countries and organizations, as subjects of the international law.
| What does the 'most-favored nation' principle of GATT (Art. 1) mean? | International Law
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signatory parties have to extend equal trading privileges to all other signatories. It means that if you extend special treatment to one country, you have to extend it to all other countries too. WTO/GATT had 149 members in early 2006.
| How far does the 'exclusive economic zone' of a country extend into the sea? | International Law
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200 nautical miles. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982) states that countries shall have the 'sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds' (Art. 56) in a breadth of 200 nautical miles from the coast baseline (i.e. 12 nautical miles from the coast).
No. The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space (1967) calls for peaceful use of space. Satellites used for military intelligence are however justified by the self-defense clause of the the Charter of the United Nations(art. 51). Space itself does not belong to any country, and is freely accessible for research activities given due consideration for possible effects on the environment of the earth.
Civil Aviation. The Chicago convention established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as a special organization of the UN. It has been agreed, for example, that every plane, similar to every ship, needs to be registered in its country of origin.
| In order to answer this question, it is necessary to know that in U.S. jurisprudence there are three different burdens of proof. They are: "beyond a reasonable doubt", which is the very heavy burden required to convict someone in a criminal case; "preponderance of the evidence", which just requires a slight tip of the scales in the prevailing party's favor; and "clear and convincing evidence", which is approximately in the middle of the other two.
With that in mind, what burden of proof would have to be satisfied if the removing parent's burden of proof if he or she defends against a petition filed by the left-behind parent by alleging that by returning the child "there is grave risk that the child's return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation"? | International Child Abduction Law
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Clear and convincing evidence.. In addition to above, clear and convincing evidence is required to show that return of the child would subject the child to a violation of his or her basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.
| In order to answer this question, it is necessary to know that in U.S. jurisprudence there are three different burdens of proof. They are: "beyond a reasonable doubt", which is the very heavy burden required to convict someone in a criminal case; "preponderance of the evidence", which just requires a slight tip of the scales in the prevailing party's favor; and "clear and convincing evidence", which is approximately in the middle of the other two.
With that in mind, what is the removing parent's burden of proof if he or she defends against a petition filed by the left-behind parent by alleging that the left-behind parent consented to the removal? | International Child Abduction Law
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Preponderance of the evidence.. In addition to this defense, the removing parent must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the other parent never exercised his or her visitation rights, or that more than a year has passed since the child was removed, or that the child is old enough or mature enough to object to return and that it is appropriate to honor the objection.
It doesn't.. "Habitual residence" is not precisely defined by the Convention. It is generally considered by the surrounding facts to be the country of the child's normal and usual place of residence. As there is no precise definition, American lawyers have to look to case law for this. The definition may be found at page 1073 of Mozes v. Mozes, 239 F.3d 1067 (US 9th Cir. 2001).
| The main reason for the Convention is to prevent a parent from taking a child out of a country and into another country in order to accomplish what? | International Child Abduction Law
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Find a more sympathetic court.. A typical case may be one in which a family court in Mexico grants custody of a child to a spouse and the other spouse takes the child to the U.S. in order to get a favorable custody order there.
16. The language of the Convention gives no reason why this particular age was chosen for the definition of a "child".
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