1 One may differentiate between declared, and undeclared war; large-scale military combat and lowintensity conflict; civil

and international war.

Countermeasures are a form of sanctions not employing military force. Examples include a States
decision not to apply a treaty in force in its relations with the targeted State, the confiscation of goods
and assets (often employed by the United States), a boycott, or an embargo or a military blockade.
2 The key UN Charter provisions regarding the use of force are Article 2.4 and 51. The first prohibits
force or threatening to use it in International Relations. The latter article authorizes the use of force as a
legitimate response to an armed attack. The phenomenal improvements in weapons technology
(such as the development of nuclear weapons) have prompted reliance on anticipatory self-defense in
State practice. Chapter VII of the UN Charter otherwise vests the Security Council with the legal
monopoly on the use of force. With the absence of a standing army, the Council may authorize
multilateral action via its resolutions, which other powerful States may then employ as bases for their
use of force to alleviate the particular threat to peace.
3 Peacekeeping forces have attempted to control State uses of force. The UN operations have
traditionally been undertaken as peacekeeping, rather than peacemaking. A peacekeeping invitation in
practice had always been understood to mean that UN troops would take a somewhat passive role, not
actively participating in local military conflicts, because they were only a buffer force. State consent of
the involved territories is a condition precedent to UN involvement. An example of UN peacekeeping
operations that in India/Pakistan in 1949. An example of a peace enforcement mission is the UN efforts
to incorporate offensive, or first strike posture in Somalia which resulted in numerous problems and
added dangers.
4 Humanitarian interventions is often claimed as the legitimizing basis for State uses of force. The
objective is to come to aid of people in other nations who are unable to fend themselves in times of
need. What constitutes this need however is subject to much disagreement. The UN Charter does not
answer the question of the degree to which States may undertake collective humanitarian intervention
without UN approval.
ASEAN Regional Forum as an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) venue
5 Alternative Dispute Resolution are mechanisms in International Law that are less than either
arbitration or court proceedings. These include diplomatic means of settlement such as negotiation,
inquiry, mediation, conciliation and mini trial.
The ASEAN Regional Forum was founded as the first intra-regional security institution encompassing the
Asia-Pacific region for constructive dialogue between nations and for regional security cooperation.
Given the objectives and the fundamental principles of the ARF being confidence building measures,
preventive diplomacy and conflict-resolution mechanisms, these are compatible with that of the ADRs
approaches of cooperative security, mutual engagement, and bilateral negotiations. Thus ARF is a viable
alternative dispute resolution. It may however face security concerns.
Northwest Passage as internal waterway vs international strait
6 The Northwest Passage is a sea route connecting the northern coast of North America, connecting the
Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean via the marine waterways of northern Canada and the coastal

waters of northern Alaska. The Northwest Passage dispute is limited to the issue of sovereignty in the
passage which concerns the regulatory regime governing international shipping. Straight baseline
method (by UNCLOS) was used to calculate territorial area, giving Canada the determination of their
territory that considered the NWP waterways as internal Canadian waters. This would mean that
Canada has the right to unilaterally pass legislations and impose regulations on all Canadians and
foreigners on the passages ice and water. The US, along with other EU countries and Japan claims on
the other hand that the passage is used for international navigation. The US also reinforced the ICJs
consideration of the NWP as an international strait connecting the two high seas, Atlantic Ocean and
Pacific Ocean.
refugees as stateless persons
7 Stateless in the absence of nationality, whereby an individual is generally a refugee lacking the
international protection afforded by a legal connection with any particular State. The United Nations
High Commission on Refugees is the agency mandated to lead and coordinate international action to
protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights
and well-being of refugees and is so mandated to help stateless people.
The Southeast Asian region has been hosting large numbers of refugees for decades and become the
home of many minority refugees. It lack however, strong legal frameworks for protection of refugees
and resulted to their treatment as nonentities of the state and subject to many abuses. Due to the
complex mix-migration context, States interests relating to national security and maintenance of good
relations with neighbors constrain refugee protection and access to asylum.
International rule on illegal trade of cultural objects
8 The key agreements that deal with the illegal trade of cultural objects include the 1970 UNESCO
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of
Ownership of Cultural Property. It aims to prohibit and prevent such trades for the reason that these are
the leading causes of the loss of cultural heritage. Several federal legislations had been drafted citing
this convention. The 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects on the
other hand, establishes legal rules for the restitution or return of cultural objects to their countries of
origin. The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee serves as an advisory capacity within a framework
for discussion and negotiation in bilateral negotiations relating to the restitution of cultural material.
The International Law Associations 2006 Draft Principles for Cooperation in the Mutual Protection and
Transfer of Cultural Material guides the process of intervention between conflicting parties to promote
reconciliation, settlement, or compromise.
weaponization vs militarization of outer space
9 The UN Outer Space Treaty provides a basic framework on international space law, saying that space is
beyond national jurisdiction aand should be reserved for peaceful uses. The Prevention of Outer Space
Arms Race is the UN resolution that reaffirms the fundamental principles of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty
and advocates for the ban on weaponization of space, generally understood as the placing in orbit of
space-based devices that have a destructive capacity. This suggests that space is developed as a
destructive weapon for war. What the United States envisions on the other hand is the militarization of
space, dominating the space dimension of military operations to protect US interests and investments.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
10 The International Atomic Energy Agency monitors operation of nuclear reactors and other facilities
by nonnuclear weapon states. It provides credible assurance to the international community that
nuclear materials are not diverted from peaceful nuclear uses. IAEA can request a party to remedy non-

compliance and refer violations to the UN Security Council and the General Assembly. It can also impose
specific penalties such as suspension of assistance, privileges and rights. It employs negotiation first.
When this fails, the matter is referred to the ICJ, unless the parties to the dispute agree on another
method of resolution.
Right to self-determination
11 Self-determination refers to the right of an indigenous population to choose self-governance or some
related form of autonomy. The people within the effected territory acquire the right to govern
themselves free of another States control. The Article 1 of the ICCPR and ICESCR states that all peoples
have the right to self-determination. By virtue of their right, they freely determine their political status
and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. There three aspects of Selfdetermination: 1) external, people determine their international political status 2) first internal, right of
all people to be complete masters of their own territory is recognized and 3) second internal, right of all
people to choose their political institutions, representatives and to participate in the process of
governance. The primary aspect of self-determination that Quebec and the Basque Country are claiming
for is external.
International Criminal Court
12 The International Criminal Court is a permanent institution established to prosecute individuals
committing the most serious crimes of international concern in four areas as granted under the Article 5
of the Rome Statute, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
ICCs goal and function is inclined with the ICTY and the ICTR. The Court can only exercise its jurisdiction
in three given cases: 1) if the accused is a national of a state party, 2) if the alleged crime took place on
the territory of a state party, and 3) if a situation is referred to the Court by the UN Security Council.
Charles Taylor was the first former head of state to be convicted in the ICC.
War crimes
?
International humanitarian law in non-international armed conflict
13 International Humanitarian Law is a set of rules which seek for humanitarian reasons, to limit the
effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities
and restricts the means and methods of warfare.
Non-international armed conflict is restricted to the territory of a single State involving either regular
armed forces fighting of armed dissidents, or armed groups fighting each other. More limited range of
rules applies to internal armed conflicts. As laid down in Article 3 common to the four Geneva
Conventions as well as in Additional Protocol II, when a foreign State extends its military support to the
government of a State within which a non-international armed conflict is taking place, the conflict
remains non-international in character. Conversely, should a foreign State extend military support to an
armed group acting against the government, the conflict will become international in character.
International norms regarding conduct of states/individuals in cyber space
14 There is no existing wide consensus on the norms covering the conduct of states and individuals in
cyberspace. Only multilateral treaties, agreements, and declarations were signed by states in an effort
to govern actions in the cyberspace. Regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization nevertheless have developed their own
cyberspace programs.

Immunity of former heads of state

15 Immunity refers to a set of protective measures that limit the absolute power or jurisdiction of the
host state wherein state officials serve. There are two types of immunity. Ratione Personae is derived
from the officials status and the post he occupies in government service and from the state functions
which the official is required to perform in that post. It is the source of the absolute immunity of Head of
States. It is however temporary in character, meaning immunity is effective upon the official take up his
post and ceases when he leaves his post. Ratione Materiae on the other hand, is granted to state
officials regardless of their rank by virtue of the fact that they perform official state functions. When the
official leaves government service, he continues to enjoy immunity ratione materiae with regard to acts
perform while he was serving in an official capacity.
Heads of States enjoy absolute jurisdictional immunity in all foreign States for all acts which would
ordinarily be subject to the jurisdiction of those States, whatever the connection in which those acts
were committed. No immunity when it comes to war crimes however is recognized in the International
Criminal Court.
Non-voting observer status vs observer state status UN General Assembly
The General Assembly is composed of all member States. The assembly has various committees and
commissions serving variety of functions. These functions include the making and considerations of
reports on world events, the discussion of principles of international cooperation, and the approval of
budgets and applications for membership. The GA can give a special observer status whereby a
representative of a nonmember state could be present in all the meetings of the GA. The PLO has been
accorded with this special status which could also be extended to selected international organizations
such as national liberation movements.
POWs vs unlawful combatants
regional variations in the aspects of sexual minority (LGBT) rights
economic sanctions to North Korea
expulsion of diplomats
limits to diplomatic immunity of envoys (the case of Italian ambassador vs Indian Supreme Court)
Australia-Sri Lanka agreement on forcible return of refugees to high seas
armistice agreement
treatment of ethnic minorities in Myanmar
Kyoto Protocol vs Rio+20