Unanimous Consent in International Organization

1928 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobman L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Central American ◽  
Concerted Action ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Secretary Of State ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Unanimous Consent ◽  
Opening Address

The decisions of international bodies may be based either on the rigid principle of unanimity or on the more convenient doctrine that the majority shall govern. In a world where national sovereignty is so widely stressed, the former method has a natural appeal. The rule of unanimity has, in fact, been treated by many persons as an inevitable corollary of the theory of sovereignty, which, as it is generally understood, would subject no state to any limitation against its will. Such an idea was very probably in the mind of former Secretary of State Hughes when he stated in the opening address of the Conference on Central American Affairs in December, 1922, “ Unanimity is a part of the consequence of the status of states in international law.” Writers on internationallaw have often so defined sovereignty and independence that the requirement of unanimity for any concerted action of a group of nations would follow.

scholarly journals BRICS: Legal Nature and Principles of Cooperation

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 123-133
Author(s):  
L. P. Anufrieva
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
International Law ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
International Organization ◽  
International Institution ◽  
Brics Countries ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
The Status ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

BRICS is a relatively new phenomenon in modern international political and economic life, gaining momentum and attracting more and more lawyers’ attention. The central issues in this case are, firstly, the legal nature of the group of five states itself — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and secondly, the place, nature, content of the principles on which international cooperation of this entity is based. Accordingly, the paper considers these issues through the prism of theoretical analysis from the standpoint of international legal science, in which the identification of the legal nature of the interaction of the BRICS countries is not only a prerequisite, but also, in essence, the foundation for solving the problem of legal qualification of the principles of cooperation between them. Thus, it answers the question on the relationship of the latter with other principles in the system of international law. For this purpose, the study adopts two alternative options: the status of an international institution if it is established that BRICS has features of an international organization or integration association; and its recognition as a paraorganization if none of such features exist.

Another Brick in the Wall

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 414-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasna Arsić-Đapo
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Republic ◽  
International Legal Personality ◽  
Political Decisions

The origins of the osce began as a political conference established by the 1975 Helsinki Accords, rather than a treaty-based international organization. Through political decisions it has evolved in a fragmented way, structurally and legally, which has resulted in a decades-long debate over its international legal personality and its status as an ‘fully-fledged’ international organization. In that light, the June 2017 Arrangement between the osce and the Republic of Poland on the Status of the osce in the Republic of Poland, as well as the 2017 Agreement between the Republic of Austria and the osce regarding the Headquarters of the osce , which were concluded as treaties, demonstrate recognition, by those two states, of the osce as a subject of international law with treaty-making capacity. This suggests that the osce may be acquiring international legal personality much in the same way as states achieve statehood—element by element and recognition state by state.

Sovereignty

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Heller
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Weimar Republic ◽  
Political System ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The People ◽  
Pluralistic World

This 1927 work addresses the paradox of sovereignty, that is, how the sovereign can be both the highest authority and subject to law. Unlike Kelsen and Schmitt who seek to dissolve the paradox, this text sees the tensions that the paradox highlights as an essential part of a society ruled by law. Sovereignty, in the sense of national sovereignty, is often perceived in liberal democracies today as being under threat, or at least “in transition,” as power devolves from nation states to international bodies. This threat to national sovereignty is at the same time considered a threat to a different idea of sovereignty, popular sovereignty—the sovereignty of “the people”—as important decisions seem increasingly to be made by institutions outside of a country’s political system or by elite-dominated institutions within. This text was written in 1927 amidst the very similar tensions of the Weimar Republic. In an exploration of history, constitutional and political theory, and international law, it shows that democrats must defend a legal idea of sovereignty suitable for a pluralistic world.

The Crisis of the Ryukyus (1877–82)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Sze-lok Leung ◽  
Anthony Carty
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
Independent State ◽  
The People ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Historical Viewpoint

Okinawa is now considered as Japanese territory, without challenge from most world powers. However, this is debatable from a historical viewpoint. The Ryukyu Kingdom which dominated the islands was integrated into Japan in 1879. The transformation is seen by Wang Hui as a process of modernization. This chapter argues the issue from an international law perspective. It shows that Ryukyu was an independent State as demonstrated by the 1854 Ryukyu–US Treaty, although it sent regular tributes to China. The Japanese integration by coercion is not justifiable. The people of Ryukyu were willing to continue being a tributary State rather than part of Japan. Britain, as the greatest colonial power, did not object. China and the US attempted to intervene in this affair, but no treaty has so far been concluded. Therefore, the status of Ryukyu/Okinawa remains unresolved and may need to be revisited, while putting the history context into consideration.

International Law in Chinese Courts

2019 ◽  
pp. 547-564
Author(s):  
Congyan Cai
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Foreign Relations ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Major Development ◽  
Chinese Perspective ◽  
The Status ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
The Comparative Study

This chapter adds a Chinese perspective to the comparative study of how national courts treat international law. The chapter finds that the application of international law in Chinese courts is influenced by several major factors, including China’s ambivalence toward international law, the role that the judiciary plays in China’s national governance, and the professional competence of Chinese judges. In particular, the failure of China’s Constitution to specify the status of international law makes secondary laws less likely to embrace international law: many secondary laws do not mention international law at all; only a modest number of secondary laws automatically incorporate international law. This also means that Chinese judges are discouraged from invoking international law in adjudicating disputes. However, in line with and in support of China’s economic opening policy since the late 1970s, Chinese judges regularly apply those treaties that deal with commercial relations between private actors. A major development is that, as China rises as a great power, Chinese courts have begun to prudently become more involved in foreign relations by applying international law.

scholarly journals National Sovereignty Versus Transboundary Water Cooperation: Can You See International Law Reflected in the Water?

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 178-182
Author(s):  
Francesco Sindico
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Guarani Aquifer ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
Downstream Flow ◽  
Transboundary Water Cooperation

Could Turkey dam the Tigris and Euphrates and deprive its downstream neighbors of vital water resources? Could Brazil over-pump the Guarani Aquifer System to the detriment of the other aquifer states? Could Egypt put pressure on upstream Nile states and prevent them from developing river related infrastructure that might limit downstream flow? International law in the field of transboundary water cooperation has evolved and would appear to condemn unilateral practices such as the ones suggested above. However, hydro politics and the lack of reception of international water law instruments by many countries sometimes make it difficult to see international law properly reflected in the management of major rivers, lakes and aquifers around the world. In this essay, I first highlight what international law dictates when it comes to the tension between national sovereignty and transboundary water cooperation. I then explore how this tension plays out in the three examples noted above. Due to limited acceptance of the existing international, bilateral, or regional legal instruments, the resolution of the tension between national sovereignty and transboundary water cooperation will often be left to customary international law.

A UN Specialized Agency for the Environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Said Mahmoudi
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Stockholm Conference

The issue, international organization for the protection of the environment perhaps more than those in any other area of international law, is characterized by the contestation of the policies and aspirations of developing and industrialized countries. The discussions which preceded the 1972 Stockholm Conference concerned partly the type of international institutional arrangement required for addressing the environmental problems. As regards the institutional reforms with respect to international environmental governance (IEG), the main question is whether to focus on the existing global institution, i.e. UNEP, or to create a new functional international organization. After almost five decades of existence, turning UNEP into a ‘specialized agency’ within the UN system is a reasonable move. It would meet the long-felt need to elevate its status and equip it with the necessary competence and financial stability for the demanding task it should have as an efficient global environmental organization.

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