Assume that you have been asked by the Foreign Office to write a briefing paper justifying the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Do so.

Chris Thomas International Law Essay Wednesday 11-12 Word Count - 2,788 Q. Assume that you have been asked by the Foreign Office to write a briefing paper justifying the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Do so. In light of a multitude of events that span across three decades, it is the opinion of the British Government that immediate and definitive military action needs to be taken against the current Iraqi Regime. This document aims to justify this position focusing on the conduct of Iraq domestically and internationally. Over the past twelve years since the withdrawal from Kuwait, the Regime has openly flouted International Law, publicly refusing to comply with the terms laid down by the Cease-fire Resolution 687. The staring point for this document is the serious threat deemed to be posed against foreign interests and the overall security of the region by Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). By the mid-1970's Iraq had an effective chemical and biological warfare programme, more emphasis being put on the biological side with the outbreak of the war with Iran in the early 80's. By 1987 a secure biological research facility had been developed at the Salman Pak site and by the mid 1990's other civilian facilities were taken over and adapted for military research, al-Dawrah Foot and Mouth Vaccine Institute and Amariyah Sera and Vaccine Institute are names of but a few. At the

  • Word count: 2904
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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International Law vs. the Iraq War

Introduction A current hot debate in international politics is whether or not the United States-led war against Iraq is legal according to international law. When the United States launched a military attack on the dictator-regime of Suddam Hussein in 2002, it sparked this discussion in the international community which continues to trouble the United Nations as well as both the Bush administration and its opposition. Those who oppose the Bush administration's decision to take pre-emptive military action against Iraq argue that according to current international law, the intervention was not lawful. The Bush administration maintains that their actions were legal due to their own interpretation of the Charter of the United Nations and resolutions made in regard to previous international altercations. Who is right? Current international law allows military action to be undertaken under two circumstances. The first one is in unilateral or collective self-defence. If a military strike is launched against a state, it has the authority to initiate its own attack in order to defend itself. The assumption here is that a state will unilaterally defend itself until the United Nations Security Council can organize more support for them. Secondly, a country may send military forces into another country in the case of a humanitarian intervention, but only in the case that it is

  • Word count: 4667
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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What Is the Importance of Recognition In the International Legal System

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNITION IN THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL SYSTEM "The international community is not a static body. New states come into existence. Revolutions occur and new governments establish themselves. Territorial changes take place. Of these changes the members of the international community have the choice of approving or disapproving".1 "Recognition is the process whereby a state acknowledges its approval of the change that has occurred".2 The legal relationship between states in international law which is an important requirement of statehood raises the question of recognition. The state to be recognized must possess four characteristics mentioned in the Montevideo Convention: - "a permanent population; a defined territory; a Government; and a capacity to enter into relations with other states".3 However, the Council of the EC adopted on 16 December 1991 the Guidelines on the Recognition of New States in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union. "These guidelines stated a common position of the Member States of the EC on the process of recognition of these states requiring: (a) respect for human rights; (b) guarantees for minorities; (c) respect for the inviolability of frontiers; (d) acceptance of commitments to regional security and stability; and (e) to settle by agreement all questions concerning State succession".4 "The EC Guidelines they demonstrate

  • Word count: 2044
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Until comparatively recently the rights of indigenous peoples have not been adequately safeguarded by international law. Discuss

Until comparatively recently the rights of indigenous peoples have not been adequately safeguarded by international law. Discuss Indigenous people are located on every continent of the world and are estimated to equate to 6% of the world's population, with an estimated 5000 distinct groups in 72 countries1. With such figures it may be alarming to think that so many people could have been failed by not having sufficient safeguards at international law. Yet, it may be said that international law has indeed failed to protect the rights of indigenous people and until relatively recently had not even recognised them with rights that are capable of being protected or enforced. This essay will attempt to outline the possible reasons for this lack of protection at international law for indigenous peoples. It will endeavour to outline the historical context of the plight to which indigenous communities have faced, the history of rights being recognised at an international level and the possible distinction between these rights and rights specific to indigenous peoples; the protection afforded by other rights recognised at international law; the recognition of indigenous communities from governmental and non-governmental organisations; definitions of who may constitute indigenous and whether this is helpful; and finally, The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007.

  • Word count: 2897
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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International law - How important is the end of the Cold War as a factor in the growth of transnational crime?

(LLM) International Law How important is the end of the Cold War as a factor in the growth of transnational crime? Indisputably, due to the perceived growth of transnational crime, the period since the early 1990s has been one in which a rising number of countries have identified it as a national security threat. It is true that the end of the last century has been manifested by a number of major political upheavals which transformed the function of the world massively. The end of the Cold War along with the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union and the related regime change in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of Yugoslavia into its constituent parts, and the changes in the long-standing political systems in Africa and Asia have created a new world order. In addition, the revolutionary improvements in transportation and communication provided by the increased globalization at the beginning of the 1990s have decreased physical barriers around the world, making it easier for criminals to expand their activities and operate in a global environment.1 Transnational criminals, therefore, have benefited from the weakening of certain government institutions, more open borders, and the resurgence of ethnic and regional conflicts across the globe and been engaged in a variety of illicit activities, including narcotics and arms smuggling, trafficking in persons, counterfeiting,

  • Word count: 3420
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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During war, the dominators are accountable for their actions bound by the rules and norms of international society.

During war, the dominators are accountable for their actions bound by the rules and norms of international society. Any acts taken with another party, there will be law, and even the laws of war do exist. The Geneva Convention relates to the rules that for the conduct of the combatants and the protection of the prisoners or war. This Convention was formed on the 12th of August 1949. The central thesis of this paper will argue that while the view of international society reflected in the laws of war may be challenged by the nature of modern conflicts, such as the incident of the bridge on the River Kwai during World War II. During the incident, the Geneva Convention has been violated. The prisoners of wars were ordered to build a bridge over the River Kwai in Burma to help move Japanese supplies and troops from Bangkok to Rangoon. This incident is about the struggle of imperialistic wills between a British and Japanese Colonel of different and opposing cultures. The way the Japanese ruled have caused the soldiers to be physically and mentally abused. The Geneva Convention is where the prisoners of war are to be kept under the protection and the rule of principles of the law of international society, as the law results from the usages established among civilized peoples, from the laws of humanity, and the mind of the public conscience. The prisoners' rights are in the hands

  • Word count: 905
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Law of the Sea

As it has given in the case, the State A and State B have disputes in the Economic Exclusive Zone and on the Continental Shelf of the costal State A. This essay will advice the disputes between States A and State B in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982. Firstly, it will examine the position of State A and State B in accordance with the regimes of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the continental shelf. Afterwards, it will examine the prompt release of the arrested vessel Anna and possible roles of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. First of all, the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone is extended to 200 nautical miles from the baseline1. Therefore, the Anna was fishing in the EEZ of the coastal state A. According to article 56 of the Convention, the coastal state has sovereign rights in the Exclusive Economic Zone for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living resources2. However, its sovereign rights are limited comparing to what the coastal state has the rights in the internal water and territorial sea. Aust states that the coastal state seems to have exclusive rights in the EEZ, but where many regimes of the high seas are applied as the EEZ was high seas in the past3. For instance, the flag state B has rights to freedom of navigation, over-flight and of

  • Word count: 2924
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Human Rights Legislation.

Human Rights Legislation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted on the 10th of December 1948. The declaration was not intended to impose any legal obligation on the state; rather it was proclaimed as, "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations". Although it is not binding on any state, the declaration strengthens the states obligation under the UN Charter1. The fundamental principle of the UDHR, is that it is universal both in scope and in applicability. These rights are assigned, not because their government has taken up membership in some international peace-loving organisation, but rather these are seen as fundamental rights protecting the individual, simply by the virtue of being a Human. The essence of 'Human Rights' is so they impose an obligation on individuals or on states to give assistance to every other human being to attain these fundamental rights. In context to the question posed, Human Rights provisions are interesting because if it is found that the prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay are not entitled to Prisoner of War (POW) status, (therefore not protected under the Third Geneva Convention), then their detention and treatment will have to be in line with International Human Rights provisions. In addition to the UDHR, there are several regional versions. The American Convention on Human Rights, which was entered

  • Word count: 1307
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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Is modern democracy the best form of democracy

V IS MOERN DEMOCRACY THE BEST FORM OF GOVERMENT "The philosophers have only seen the word in various way; the point is change it" (Karl Marx, theses on Feuerbach (1845) in Haywood, 2002, 40) In other words Karl Marx is implying the fact that every political idea or theory seeks to see the world through the veil of assumptions and presumptions according to the subject or person in the question. This broad political ideas, creeds or traditions are termed as political ideas which are mainly liberalism, Marxism, Realism among others which constitute a unique intellectual framework or paradigm where by each offer it's own idea of a political reality and world view. The term ideology coined in 1796 by French philosopher Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836) refers to a new "science of ideas". Karl Marx also describe political ideology as a ruling material force in society by writing that "the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, thus the class which is the ruling material force in the society and is at the same time the ruling intellectual force. The class has the means of mental production at it is disposal has control at the same time over the means over the means of mental production. ( Marx and Engel (1864) 1970:64 in Haywood, 2002, 42). Therefore stressing on the fact that ideas of the ruler or rulers being the elite in the society or the masses to rule

  • Word count: 1765
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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International Law: Multinational companies may lack personality under general international law; how

International Law: Multinational companies may lack personality under general international law; how Multinational companies maybe described as 'enterprises which own or control production or service facilities outside the country in which they are based14.' Such companies are usually privately owned, and have developed to possess a substantial degree of international economic and political power, through its vast resources, which are above that of many states. Despite such power and global activities, which include entering into agreements such as concessions, with states, traditionally, such companies are not persons under general international law, where are only states are regarded as subjects15. Historically the socialist and developing states have been seen to oppose any recognition of multinationals. The socialist states were seen to oppose such entities on political and ideological grounds, whilst the developing states were weary of the power of multinationals, fearing exploitation. However, with the fall of communism in USSR and eastern Europe, and communist states such as China entering into agreements with multinationals16, opposition on ideological grounds has somewhat diminished. Whilst the need for foreign investment has led to developing states entering into agreements with multinationals, regardless of their fears. This indicates a de facto recognition of

  • Word count: 1300
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Law
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