scholarly journals International Law, Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect: An Overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Thomas Prehi Botchway
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International System ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
International Commission ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
Sovereign Equality ◽  
International Regulations ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Style Of Writing

This paper is an attempt at analysing the intricacies between international law, the concept of Responsibility to Protect and its implications for the sovereignty of modern states. The paper examines how the concept of responsibility to protect (as stipulated by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS)) impacts on the sovereignty of states. It adopts the essay style of writing and reviews a number of documents on the subject of international law, sovereignty and the responsibility to protect. The paper consequently argues that though the ICISS claims that its “purpose is not to license aggression with fine words, or to provide strong states with new rationales for doubtful strategic designs” (ICISS, 2001, p. 35), the Commission’s very attempt to exempt the permanent five and other so-called major powers from intervention does just that whether intentionally or unintentionally. It consequently recommends that much effort should be made to address the inequalities within the international system through the formulation of appropriate policies and international regulations that address the sovereign equality of states in the international system, especially on the question of intervention.

The Constitutionalization of the International Legal Order

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 545-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSAN C. BREAU
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International System ◽  
World Order ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
International Norm ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Nation States ◽  
International Legal Order ◽  
The Subject

A continuing debate within international law research is whether there is an emerging international constitutional order. This journal devoted an issue to this discussion and there have been a number of books and articles written on the subject. Indeed, the philosopher Jürgen Habermas has recently joined the debate by writing an essay entitled (in the English translation) ‘Does the Constitutionalization of International Law Still Have a Chance?’ The essay reminds the reader of constitutionalism's original philosophical roots in Kantian cosmopolitanism. Habermas argues that the world dominated by nation-states ‘is indeed in transition towards the postnational constellation of a global society’. He contrasts this vision with the realist opinion that the taming of political power through law is only possible within a sovereign state and with a more recent view postulating a vision of a liberal world order under the banner of Pax Americana. In support of the Habermas position, it can be argued that as a result of the UN 60th Anniversary Summit's adoption of the international norm of ‘the responsibility to protect’, there is a trend towards constitutional values in our international system. As Anne Peters states, ‘[t]he most fundamental norms might represent global constitutional law.’

scholarly journals Should the Responsibility to Protect be Enshrined in International Law?

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Lo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International System ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
The Stability

While states admit a moral responsibility to take action against states that violate human rights and international criminal law, international law does not create any legally binding obligations on states to prevent or punish violators of human rights. Yet, enshrining the “responsibility to protect” in international law will only threaten the stability of the international system that has long operated based on the norm of state sovereignty and the principle of non-interference.

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and Responses from Southeast Asia

2019 ◽  
pp. 17-42
Author(s):  
See Seng Tan
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
International Security ◽  
Humanitarian Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
International Commission ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
A Charge

This chapter examines extant understandings of sovereignty as responsibility, beginning with the idea of sovereign responsibility as conceptualised by Francis Deng and his collaborators, who contend that sovereignty can no longer be seen as a protection against interference, but as a charge of responsibility where the state is accountable to both domestic and external constituencies. The understanding is foundational to the thinking behind the 2001 International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) report, which introduced the responsibility to protect (R2P) with the aim to popularise the concept of humanitarian intervention and democracy-restoring intervention. Since its endorsement by the United Nations, the R2P has evolved through efforts by the UN and others to enhance, operationalise as well as to implement it in actual crisis situations – with varying degrees of success and in some instances not without controversy. The chapter discusses the relevance of the sovereignty as responsibility idea to Southeast Asia. It also examines the existing academic and policy debate over the R2P and its relevance to international security and sovereign responsibility, as well as its ambivalent reception in Southeast Asia.

Some Problems in the History of the Law of Nations in Asia (1963)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Alexandrowicz
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Law Of Nations ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law

This chapter considers problems in the study of the history of the law of nations in Asia. It argues that international lawyers have focused their attention on the legal aspects of contemporary problems of international relations and politics, and on the operation of tribunals and quasi-tribunals and the case law they produce. Writers of present day treatises of international law devote just a few introductory pages to the history of the subject and these short chapters are often based on similar introductions in nineteenth-century treatises. The chapter discusses some of the elements of legal change in which European–Asian relations played a significant role; the gradual elimination of the natural law outlook by growing European positivism; the principle of universality of the law of nations and the principle of identity of de facto and de jure State sovereignty; and the use of capitulations to delay the ‘entry’ of Asian States into the family of nations.

The Responsibility to Protect and its Critics: Explaining the Consensus

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Serrano
Keyword(s):  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
International Commission ◽  
World Summit ◽  
Member States ◽  
Small Minority ◽  
The Third ◽  
Pillar Structure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Outcome Document

AbstractWhile critics have claimed that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a North-South polarising issue and is therefore controversial, this is a deliberate misrepresentation in a rhetorical war led by a small minority of UN member states. The first section of this article briefly reviews the evolution of this emerging norm from its inception in the 2001 report by the International Commission on State Sovereignty and Intervention (ICISS), to its endorsement in 2005 by more than 150 heads of states in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, to its more recent configuration in a three-pillar structure. The next part seeks to identify the main criticisms that have been levelled at R2P. It touches on some of the myths and allegations that have long accompanied R2P, as well as on the chief legitimate concerns underlying the shift towards implementation. The third and concluding section briefly touches upon the impact of the interventions in Libya and Côte D'Ivoire upon the evolving R2P consensus, and critically assesses the implications of a normative strategy that has put a premium on unanimity and unqualified consensus.

scholarly journals Responsibility to Protect dalam Kasus Genosida oleh ISIL terhadap Yazidi-Irak melalui Intervensi Militer Amerika Serikat

Jurnal ICMES ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-63
Author(s):  
Dewi Agha Putri ◽  
Hasan Sidik
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
International Commission ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
United States Intervention ◽  
The Military

Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan intervensi militer yang dilakukan oleh Amerika Serikat (AS) dalam menanggapi genosida yang dilakukan oleh Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terhadap komunitas Yazidi di Irak. Peneliti menggunakan konsep Responsibility to Protect (R2P), yang merujuk pada laporan dari the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) u This article aims to explain the military intervention carried out by the United States in response to the genocide carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against Yazidi community in Iraq. The researchers use the concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which refers to a report from the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty to see the procedure for procuring military intervention in the R2P framework in detail. This article found that besides several collateral damages, military intervention carried out by the United States was following the procedures set out by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. The United States’ intervention was done by the Iraqi government's approval, which had previously requested assistance from the United States. This intervention can be seen as Iraqi collective self-defense as stated in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations or intervention based on approval as stipulated in Article 20 of the Responsibility of States for International Wrongful Acts 2001. This research was conducted qualitatively using sources in the form of a variety of documents and mass media reports. ntuk melihat prosedur intervensi militer dalam kerangka kerja R2P secara terperinci. Artikel ini menemukan bahwa meskipun telah terjadi sejumlah dampak sampingan (collateral damages), intervensi militer yang dilakukan oleh AS mengikuti prosedur yang ditetapkan oleh ICISS, antara lain, dilakukan AS atas persetujuan pemerintah Irak yang sebelumnya meminta bantuan dari AS. Intervensi ini dapat dilihat sebagai pertahanan diri kolektif Irak sebagaimana tercantum dalam Piagam Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa Pasal 51 atau intervensi berdasarkan persetujuan sebagaimana diatur dalam Pasal 20 Responsibility of States for International Wrongful Acts tahun 2001. Penelitian ini dilakukan secara kualitatif dengan menggunakan sumber-sumber berupa berbagai dokumen dan laporan media massa.

scholarly journals Il diritto internazionale umanitario e la guerra aerea

2010 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Harvard University ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Regulations ◽  
The Subject

This book is designed to fill a gap in Italian publications dealing with the legal issues triggered by the use of aircraft in armed conflicts. The absence of international regulations governing aerial hostilities, despite the increasing use of the same, calls for a serious reflection on the subject, offered here in the form of a collection of articles on the fundamental principles of humanitarian law and their application to the operations performed by the air forces, and more specifically to aerial bombardment. Recent legal rulings and the publication by Harvard University of Manual on International Law Applicable to Air and Missile Warfare are evidence of the need, felt at all levels, for an exhaustive work on this subject.

Hijazi Self-Determination and the New International System

The Hijaz ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 99-130
Author(s):  
Malik R. Dahlan
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International System ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Arab State ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
System P ◽  
National Liberation Movement ◽  
The Subject

This chapter covers Hijazi self-determination: as an experimentation of Hijazi nationalism through “ethnicity” and “territoriality” concepts of international law. The chapters cover the promulgation of the Arab Revolt and Arab self-determination, the dictating rules of international law, Arab nationalist movements as well as the claim over the institution of the Caliphate. It explores Hijaz nationalism after the breakdown of the dream of a unitary “Arab State” and its status in the League of Nations. The analogy brings in critical legal studies mirroring the past and drawing lessons from Japan and its denied discourse. The chapter covers the invasion and legal treatment of the conquest of The Hijaz and the Taif Massacre and rise of a new Islamic state led by the Wahhabi movement and recognized, ultimately, as a state by the Allies – Saudi Arabia. At this point The Hijaz transitions from being the subject of colonialism to the object of it in the new Islamic state. It covers Imam Ibn Saud’s negotiations with The Hijaz nationalist movement to safe statehood and his promise of Hijazi self-government under the principle of “The is for the Hijazis” to The Hijaz and the Islamic World. It also discusses the Hijaz National Liberation Movement against the British and new religious rule.

The responsibility to protect – much ado about nothing?

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 55-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
THERESA REINOLD
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
International Norm ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Much Ado About Nothing ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Probing Questions

AbstractDespite its newness, the concept of the responsibility to protect (R2P) looks back at a stellar career. It has been the subject of numerous conferences and academic publications and has been affirmed by the major UN bodies. Indeed, if one were to assess the development of an international norm by the amount of academic attention and general rhetorical support it enjoys, one could be inclined to believe that the responsibility to protect is rapidly evolving into a norm of customary international law.This article subjects the R2P hype to critical scrutiny and asks probing questions about R2P's viability as a norm. Beneath the thin veneer of rhetorical acceptance of R2P lies a range of hotly disputed issues – in particular but not exclusively regarding the concept's implications for the use of force – which are unlikely to be resolved in the near future. In this article I examine R2P's potential to ‘ripen’ into an international norm. I argue that in the absence of an intersubjective consensus about what R2P actuallymeans, the concept's chances to ‘harden’ into a norm of customary international law are remote. I posit that R2P cannot be considered a ‘new norm’ or an ‘emerging norm’ as it is frequently called, because the vast majority of states simply does not want to be legally bound to save strangers in remote regions of the world.

The Approach of the Chinese Communists to the Study of International Law, State Sovereignty and the International System

1977 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 315-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Ogden
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International System ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Western Tradition ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Legal Writers

The attitudes of Chinese Communist legal writers and political theorists towards international law, their conception of its functions, and their interpretation of the meanings of the key terms are predictably different from, and often opposed to, those of writers in the western tradition. Such differences existed before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and they became more pronounced with the Chinese Communists' adoption of Marxism-Leninism as their official state ideology. The divergence has become increasingly centred on the concept of sovereignty, and on the assumptions as to its nature and its relationship to international law.

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