The Fundamental Rules of the International Legal Order: Jus Cogens And Obligations Erga Omnes

The Fundamental Rules of the International Legal Order: Jus Cogens And Obligations Erga Omnes Summary:

By Tomuschat; Jean-Marc Thouvenin

Publisher:   Martinus Nijhoff

Number Of Pages:   481

Publication :   2005-12-31

ISBN-10 / ASIN:   9004149813

ISBN-13 / EAN:   9789004149816

Product Description:

Jus cogens has become one of the most frequently used arguments in international law. Some authors ride roughshod over the traditional regimes, claiming that the effectiveness of jus cogens or obligations erga omnes must be the paramount consideration in any conceivable instances, even concerning their indirect repercussions. This book, the outgrowth of a joint reflection by French and German international lawyers, attempts to reconceptualize the doctrine of hierarchy in international law by emphasizing that a clear distinction should be drawn between primary rules, which encapsulate precepts for the protection of the basic values of the international community, and secondary rules, which determine the regime of legal consequences flowing from a breach of such rules of conduct. It will thus contribute to clarifying the true meaning of jus cogens and other similar concepts not only for the sake of academic determinacy, but also for such practical purposes as jurisdictional immunities.

Table of Contents Foreword Christian Tomuschat and Jean-Marc Thouvenin....................................ix CHAPTERS I. Lfidentification des regles fondamentales . un probleme resolu ? Paul Tavernier ..................................................................................................1 II. Jus Cogens, Obligations Erga Omnes and other Rules . The Identification of Fundamental Norms Stefan Kadelbach ........................................................................................... 21 III. An Example of Jus Cogens: The Status of Prisoners of War Stefanie Schmahl ...........................................................................................41 IV. Un exemple remarquable dfapplication du jus cogens, le statut de prisonnier de guerre Philippe Weckel .............................................................................................69 V. Ius cogens and the Law of Treaties W.adys.aw Czapli.ski ..................................................................................83 VI. The Duty Not to eRecognize as Lawfulf a Situation Created by the Illegal Use of Force or Other Serious Breaches of a Jus Cogens Obligation: An Obligation Without Real Substance? Stefan Talmon ................................................................................................99 VII. Lfobligation de non-reconnaissance des situations creees par le recours illicite a la force ou dfautres actes enfreignant des regles fondamentales Theodore Christakis .................................................................................. 127 VIII. La specificite des reparations pour crimes internationaux Elisabeth Lambert-Abdelgawad .............................................................. 167 vi Table of Contents IX. Do Damages Claims Arising from Jus Cogens Violations Override State Immunity from the Jurisdiction of Foreign Courts? Thomas Giegerich ...................................................................................... 203 X. Lfimmunite des Etats IsabellePingel .............................................................................................. 239 XI. Limits of International Law Immunities for Senior State Officials in Criminal Procedure Torsten Stein ............................................................................................... 249 XII. The Right of Third States to Take Countermeasures Christian Hillgruber .................................................................................. 265 XIII. Special Jurisdiction of the ICJ in the Case of Infringements of Fundamental Rules of the International Legal Order? Matthias Ruffert .......................................................................................... 295 XIV. La saisine de la Cour internationale de Justice en cas de violation des regles fondamentales de lfordre juridique international Jean-Marc Thouvenin ............................................................................... 311 XV. Violations of Fundamental Norms of International Law and the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Criminal Matters Andreas Zimmermann.............................................................................. 335 XVI. La competence universelle en matiere penale Michel Cosnard .......................................................................................... 355 XVII. Universal Jurisdiction in the Area of Private Law . The Alien Tort Claims Act Georg Nolte ................................................................................................. 373 XVIII. Competence civile universelle et droit international general Jean-Francois Flauss .................................................................................. 385 Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes vii XIX. Conclusions Alain Pellet .................................................................................................. 417 XX. Reconceptualizing the Debate on Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes . Concluding Observations Christian Tomuschat ................................................................................. 425 The Contributors................................................................................................... 437 Index ......................................................................................................... 443 Table of Cases / Index de jurisprudence ........................................................... 463 Foreword On 22 and 23 October 2004, members of the Société française pour le droit international and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerrecht, together with a few specially invited Polish guests, met in the Senate Hall of Humboldt University in Berlin to discuss the problems raised by the distinction between rules of international law according to a criterion of hierarchical superiority or inferiority, a phenomenon now widely accepted as the specific feature of a legal system that seeks to protect certain core values of the international community against any possible encroachments. Jus cogens and obligations erga omnes are the key words of this tendency. The materials from the Berlin have been collected in this volume. While the contributions of the French participants are reproduced tels quels, of course after careful revision, the contributions originally presented in German were rewritten in in order to grant a wider circle of interested persons access to the thoughts and conclusions reached by the rapporteurs. Thus, the articles of this collective work appear in the two main diplomatic languages of our time. It is hoped that the reader will appreciate the fertile wealth of this pluralistic method. The Berlin workshop was the fifth within a framework of co-operation between the two national societies of international law. Four years earlier, in October 2000, a workshop having almost the same format was held, also in Berlin, on the Kosovo situation (Kosovo and the International Community. A Legal Assessment, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague et al. 2002, C. Tomuschat, ed.), and a colloquium organized in Paris in 2002 on the legal regime of the fight against terrorism resulted in the publication of the book “New Threats to International Peace and Security” (Pedone, Paris 2004). We are confident that the series of bi-annual meetings will be continued in the future. It is not the aim of this co-operation between French and German lawyers to engage in an attempt to bring into being a special “French-German” or “European” international law. Certainly, during the course of the mutual x Foreword meetings it emerged that on both sides of the Rhine many views on issues of principle are shared. In particular, the internationalists from both sides are unwaveringly of the view that international law, as it has been shaped within the international community as a binding normative regime for peaceful coexistence among all of the nations of the globe, must be taken seriously and should not be treated as a set of policy directives that can be used or abandoned according to arbitrary determinations on the spur of the moment. This commonality of views has permeated all of our meetings, leading to the emergence of a true partnership. We have come to know one another better and have been able to learn about the way jurists from the neighbour nation assess on the wider international level. However, this German-French alliance does not claim a leadership in Europe, nor is it designed to exclude anyone. On the contrary, it is the firm belief of the two editors that international law can only prosper if careful attention is given to all the voices expressing themselves on current legal issues, including voices from Third World countries. Any striving for hegemony threatens to undermine the legitimacy of international law. The relatively narrow circle of participation in the meetings is essentially explained by the modest resources of the organizers who are convinced that a workshop limited to a maximum of roughly 30 persons constitutes the ideal forum for in-depth discussions. As far as Europe-wide initiatives are concerned, the European Society of International Law has become the appropriate interlocutor since its foundation in the spring of 2004. We are extremely grateful to the Robert Bosch Foundation, Stuttgart, which made the workshop possible through a generous grant. Also, as four years ago in the preparation of the book on Kosovo, Irene Bodle has taken care of the linguistic correctness of the English texts. Berlin and Paris, Christian Tomuschat Jean-Marc Thouvenin.

Download