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978-84-1147-325-5

HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY

Ana María Salinas de Frías Ignacio Álvarez Arcá

(Directores)

Libros de texto para todas las especialidades de Derecho, Criminología, Economía y Sociología.

HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY DIRECTORES:

Ana María Salinas de Frías Ignacio Álvarez Arcá COORDINADORES:

Eric Canal Forgues Alter Bernardino León Gross AUTORES:

Joaquín Alcaide Fernández Ignacio Álvarez Arcá Eric Canal Forgues Alter Bernardino León Gross Ana María Salinas de Frías Alejandro Sánchez Frías Ángel Sánchez Legido

manuales

HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY

COMITÉ CIENTÍFICO DE LA EDITORIAL TIRANT LO BLANCH María José Añón Roig

Catedrática de Filosofía del Derecho de la Universidad de Valencia

Ana Cañizares Laso

Catedrática de Derecho Civil de la Universidad de Málaga

Jorge A. Cerdio Herrán

Catedrático de Teoría y Filosofía de Derecho.

Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México

José Ramón Cossío Díaz

Ministro en retiro de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación y miembro de El Colegio Nacional

Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot

Juez de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos Investigador del Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas de la UNAM

Owen Fiss

Catedrático emérito de Teoría del Derecho de la Universidad de Yale (EEUU)

José Antonio García-Cruces González

Catedrático de Derecho Mercantil de la UNED

Luis López Guerra

Catedrático de Derecho Constitucional de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Ángel M. López y López

Víctor Moreno Catena

Catedrático de Derecho Procesal de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Francisco Muñoz Conde

Catedrático de Derecho Penal de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla

Angelika Nussberger

Catedrática de Derecho Constitucional e Internacional en la Universidad de Colonia (Alemania) Miembro de la Comisión de Venecia

Héctor Olasolo Alonso

Catedrático de Derecho Internacional de la Universidad del Rosario (Colombia) y Presidente del Instituto Ibero-Americano de La Haya (Holanda)

Luciano Parejo Alfonso

Catedrático de Derecho Administrativo de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Consuelo Ramón Chornet

Catedrática de Derecho Internacional Público y Relaciones Internacionales de la Universidad de Valencia

Tomás Sala Franco

Catedrático de Derecho del Trabajo y de la Seguridad Social de la Universidad de Valencia

Ignacio Sancho Gargallo

Catedrático de Derecho Civil de la Universidad de Sevilla

Magistrado de la Sala Primera (Civil) del Tribunal Supremo de España

Marta Lorente Sariñena

Tomás S. Vives Antón

Catedrática de Historia del Derecho de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Javier de Lucas Martín

Catedrático de Filosofía del Derecho y Filosofía Política de la Universidad de Valencia

Catedrático de Derecho Penal de la Universidad de Valencia

Ruth Zimmerling

Catedrática de Ciencia Política de la Universidad de Mainz (Alemania)

Procedimiento de selección de originales, ver página web: www.tirant.net/index.php/editorial/procedimiento-de-seleccion-de-originales

HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY Directores

ANA MARÍA SALINAS DE FRÍAS IGNACIO ÁLVAREZ ARCÁ Coordinadores

ERIC CANAL FORGUES ALTER BERNARDINO LEÓN GROSS Autores

Joaquín Alcaide Fernández Ignacio Álvarez Arcá Eric Canal Forgues Alter Bernardino León Gross Ana María Salinas de Frías Alejandro Sánchez Frías Ángel Sánchez Legido

tirant lo blanch Valencia, 2022

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En caso de erratas y actualizaciones, la Editorial Tirant lo Blanch publicará la pertinente corrección en la página web www.tirant.com.

© Ana María Salinas de Frías Ignacio Álvarez Arcá (Directores)

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INDEX GENERAL INTRODUCTION...............................................................................

17

Prof. Dr. Ana María Salinas de Frías

PART I SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Lesson 1 THE STATE Prof. Dr. Joaquín Alcaide Fernández 1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................

23

2. THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE STATE BEFORE INTERNATIONAL LAW...................

2.1. Sovereign equality, independence and non-intervention...........................................

2.2. Specific situation of some States before international law........................................

25 25 28

3. THE EMERGENCE OF NEW STATES..........................................................................

3.1. Constituent elements...............................................................................................

3.2. Recognition of States...............................................................................................

28 29 30

4. THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF STATES......................................................................

4.1. Change of government, specifically in breach of constitutional order.......................

4.2. The succession of States: treaties; property, archives and debts; natural persons and nationality; succession of States in respect of membership of international organizations.....................................................................................................................

33 33

5. IMMUNITIES OF STATES.............................................................................................

5.1. Immunities of States as such and their property.......................................................

5.2. Immunities from jurisdiction and immunities from execution..................................

39 41 42

34

Lesson 2 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Jr. Dr. Alejandro Sánchez Frías 1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................

47

2. THE INTERNATIONAL SUBJECTIVITY OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS............................................................................................................................

48

3. CATEGORIES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS..........................................

50

4. COMPETENCES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS............................................................................................................................

52

5. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS...........

54

6. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.......

6.1. Membership............................................................................................................

6.2. Organs and decision-making procedures.................................................................

56 56 58

8

Index

7. OTHER SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW..........................................................

7.1. Peoples and self-determination................................................................................

7.2. Legal persons...........................................................................................................

60 60 62

Lesson 3 NON-STATE ACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Ambassador Bernardino León Gross 1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................

65

2. INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITY..............................................................................

67

3. THE STATUS OF THE INDIVIDUAL AS A NONSTATE ACTOR IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW...............................................

70

4. NON-STATE ACTORS IN IHL.............................................................................................

74

5. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND IL..................................................................

77

6. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS..................................................................................................

79

Lesson 4 THE INDIVIDUAL PERSON IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Prof. Dr. Ana María Salinas de Frías 1. THE EVOLVING SUBJECTIVITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL PERSON IN INTERNATIONAL LAW..........................................................................................................................

81

2. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS...........................................

2.1. Universal protection of human rights.......................................................................

2.2. Regional protection of human rights.......................................................................

83 83 84

3. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION AGAINST THE MOST SERIOUS CRIMES OF CONCERN TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.............................................

3.1. Origin and evolution of the international criminal responsibility of the individual..

3.2. The codification and classification of crimes against international peace and security.............................................................................................................................

3.2.1. War crimes....................................................................................................

3.2.2. Aggression, or the modern version of crimes against peace............................

3.2.3. Genocide.......................................................................................................

3.2.4. Crimes against humanity...............................................................................

3.3. The repression of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.............................................................................................................................

3.3.1. The principle of universal jurisdiction...........................................................

3.3.2. International criminal tribunals.....................................................................

3.3.2.1. Ad hoc international criminal tribunals..........................................

3.3.2.2. Hybrid criminal courts...................................................................

3.3.2.3. The International Criminal Court (ICC).........................................

86 86 87 88 89 90 93 94 94 96 97 98 100

Index

9

PART II SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Lesson 5 UNILATERAL ACTS Jr. Dr. Ignacio Álvarez Arcá 1. BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................

105

2. DEFINITION AND NATURE.........................................................................................

106

3. REQUIREMENTS...........................................................................................................

107

4. THE VEXED QUESTION OF REVOCATION...............................................................

109

5. CATEGORIES OF UNILATERAL ACTS........................................................................

110

6. ESTOPPEL AND ACQUIESCENCE................................................................................

6.1. Estoppel...................................................................................................................

6.2. Acquiescence...........................................................................................................

111 112 113

Lesson 6 INTERNATIONAL TREATIES Jr. Dr. Ignacio Álvarez Arcá 1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................

115

2. TREATY-MAKING PROCESS........................................................................................

2.1. Negotiation, adoption and authentication of the text..............................................

2.2. The expression of the consent to be bound by a treaty............................................

117 117 119

3. RESERVATIONS.............................................................................................................

3.1. Reservations and objections.....................................................................................

121 124

4. PROVISIONAL APPLICATION AND COMING INTO FORCE OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.......................................................................................................................

4.1. Coming into force of international treaties..............................................................

4.2. Provisional application of international treaties.......................................................

126 126 127

5. PUBLICATION, DEPOSIT AND REGISTER OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES..........

129

6. AMENDMENT AND MODIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES................

129

7. APPLICATION AND INTERPRETATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.............

7.1. Application of international treaties........................................................................

7.2. Interpretation of international treaties.....................................................................

130 130 132

8. NULLITY, TERMINATION AND SUSPENSION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES...

8.1. Nullity of international treaties................................................................................

8.2. Termination and suspension....................................................................................

8.2.1. Termination...................................................................................................

8.2.2. Suspension.....................................................................................................

8.3. Common procedure to be followed with respect to invalidity, termination, withdrawal from or suspension of the operation of a treaty.......................................................

133 134 136 136 138 139

10

Index

Lesson 7 CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ACTS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Jr. Dr. Alejandro Sánchez Frías 1. CUSTOM AND INTERNATIONAL LAW......................................................................

141

2. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOM: CONCEPT AND ELEMENTS......................................

2.1. The material element: general practice.....................................................................

2.2. The psychological element: opinio juris...................................................................

143 143 147

3. TYPOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMARY RULES.........................................

150

4. INTERPLAY BETWEEN TREATY AND CUSTOM.......................................................

151

5. ACTS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS........................................................

152

PART III THE APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Lesson 8 INCORPORATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW INTO DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS Prof. Dr. Ana María Salinas de Frías 1. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS........................................................................................................................

159

2. INCORPORATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW INTO DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS..............................................................................................................................

2.1. International treaties................................................................................................

2.2. General international law........................................................................................

2.3. Legal acts adopted within international organizations.............................................

161 162 163 164

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BY DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS..............................................................................................................................

3.1. International law hierarchy within domestic legal systems.......................................

3.2. Interpretation of international law provisions..........................................................

3.3. Implementation of international law provisions.......................................................

166 166 168 168

Lesson 9 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE Prof. Dr. Ana María Salinas de Frías 1. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE FOR WRONGFUL ACTS.......

1.1. Introduction............................................................................................................

1.2. The wrongful act.....................................................................................................

1.2.1. The subjective element or attribution to the State..........................................

1.2.2. The objective element or wrongful act...........................................................

1.3. Circumstances precluding wrongfulness..................................................................

1.4. Content of the responsibility, means of enforcement and reparation........................

171 171 172 172 174 176 179

Index

11

2. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTIVITIES NOT PROHIBITED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW....................................................................................................

181

3. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS....

183

4. SELF-HELP MEASURES AND INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS.................................

4.1. Self-help measures...................................................................................................

4.2. International sanctions............................................................................................

184 184 185

Lesson 10 DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION Prof. Dr. Ana María Salinas de Frías 1. DEFINITION, DELIMITATION OF SIMILAR CONCEPTS AND EVOLUTION..........

189

2. THE LEGAL NATURE OF DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION............................................

193

3. THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EXERCISE OF DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION THROUGH INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS........................................

3.1. The traditional requirements for diplomatic protection...........................................

3.1.1. Exhaustion of local remedies.........................................................................

3.1.2. The nationality of the injured individual.......................................................

3.1.3. Nationality of legal persons...........................................................................

3.1.4. The lack or non-application of nationality: stateless persons and refugees.....

3.1.5. Substitution of the bond of nationality: functional protection.......................

3.2. Other possible requirements: proper conduct of the individual and the waiver of diplomatic protection..............................................................................................

3.2.1. The controversial requirement of proper conduct on the part of the individual.................................................................................................................

3.2.2. The controversial concept of waiver by the individual...................................

196 197 197 200 203 204 205 206 206 209

PART IV FUNCTIONS OF CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL LAW Lesson 11 INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY. THE ORGANS OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN STATES Ambassador Bernardino León Gross 1. CONVERGENCE BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY...............

215

2. RELATIONS BETWEEN STATES: REGULATION AND ORGANS..............................

2.1. The Central Organs.................................................................................................

2.2.1. The Head of State..........................................................................................

2.2.2. The Head of Government..............................................................................

2.2.3. The Minister of Foreign Affairs.....................................................................

2.3. Immunities of the Head of State, Head of Government and Ministers of Foreign Affairs.....................................................................................................................

220 220 221 221 222

3. DIPLOMATIC LAW........................................................................................................

3.1. The 1961 Vienna Convention..................................................................................

3.1.1. The members of the Mission.........................................................................

227 228 229

223

12

Index 3.1.2. Privileges, immunities and inviolabilities.......................................................

Crisis management in Diplomatic Law....................................................................

Ad hoc Diplomacy...................................................................................................

Consular relations...................................................................................................

Relations between international organisations.........................................................

230 233 236 238 240

4. FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY..............

241

3.2.

3.3.

3.4.

3.5.

Lesson 12 PERSONAL COMPETENCES OF THE STATE Prof. Dr. Ángel Sánchez Legido 1. GENERAL REMARKS...................................................................................................

245

2. NATIONALITY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW............................................................

246

3. LEGAL REGIME OF FOREIGNERS..............................................................................

248

4. INTERNATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES.................

251

5. ENHANCED REGIMES: REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND STATELESS PEOPLE REGIMES............................................................................................................................

5.1. Refugee and asylum regimes....................................................................................

5.2. Stateless people regime............................................................................................

5.3. Internal displaced people.........................................................................................

254 254 257 259

Lesson 13 THE LAW OF THE SEAS Prof. Dr. Joaquín Alcaide Fernández 1. MARITIME AREAS........................................................................................................

261

2. INTERNATIONAL REGULATION: THE LAW OF THE SEAS.....................................

267

3. THE COMPETENCES OF THE STATE OVER MARITIME AREAS.............................

3.1. Internal waters.........................................................................................................

3.2. Territorial sea..........................................................................................................

3.3. Straits and archipelagic waters.................................................................................

3.4. Contiguous zone......................................................................................................

3.5. Exclusive Economic Zone........................................................................................

3.6. Continental shelf.....................................................................................................

272 273 275 277 279 280 283

Lesson 14 THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND INTERNATIONALLY PROTECTED SPACES Jr. Dr. Ignacio Álvarez Arcá 1. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: ORIGIN AND NATURE.....................

1.1. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment..................................

1.2. From the Rio Conference until today.......................................................................

287 288 290

2. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW..

2.1. Environmental principles.........................................................................................

2.2. Treaty-making process and nature of MEA.............................................................

292 293 295

Index 3. SPACES OUT OF THE SCOPE OF THE STATE JURISDICTION..................................

3.1. Origin and evolution...............................................................................................

3.2. The protection of the North and South poles...........................................................

3.3. High Seas.................................................................................................................

3.4. The International Seabed and Ocean Area...............................................................

3.5. The airspace............................................................................................................

3.6. The outer space.......................................................................................................

13 298 298 299 302 304 306 307

PART V THE MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY Lesson 15 THE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES Prof. Dr. Eric Canal Forgues Alter 1. CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT TECHNIQUES..........................................................................................................................

314

2. PREVENTIVE SETTLEMENT.......................................................................................

2.1. Control mechanisms................................................................................................

2.2. Monitoring bodies...................................................................................................

315 316 316

3. DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENT.......................................................................................

3.1. Negotiations............................................................................................................

3.2. Inquiry.....................................................................................................................

3.3. Good offices, mediation and conciliation.................................................................

317 317 319 320

4. JURISDICTIONAL SETTLEMENT................................................................................

4.1. General characteristics.............................................................................................

4.2. Inter-State Arbitration.............................................................................................

4.2.1. Procedure......................................................................................................

4.2.2. Effect of the award........................................................................................

4.3. Inter-State Judicial Settlement..................................................................................

4.3.1. Organisation of the Court.............................................................................

4.3.2. Competence of the Court..............................................................................

4.3.2.1. Contentious Jurisdiction.................................................................

4.3.2.2. Advisory jurisdiction......................................................................

4.3.3. Incidental jurisdiction....................................................................................

4.3.3.1. Preliminary objections....................................................................

4.3.3.2. Provisional measures......................................................................

4.3.3.3. Intervention....................................................................................

4.3.4. Effects of decisions........................................................................................

321 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 327 329 331 331 332 333 333

5. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES WITHIN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS........

5.1. The Charter of the United Nations..........................................................................

5.2. Regional Organizations...........................................................................................

336 336 337

14

Index

Lesson 16 THE CONTROL OF THE USE OF FORCE Jr. Dr. Alejandro Sánchez Frías 1. THE PROHIBITION OF THE USE OF FORCE.............................................................

1.1. Historical development............................................................................................

1.2. Nature, scope and effects of the prohibition of the use of force...............................

1.3. Exceptions to the prohibition of the use of force.....................................................

339 339 340 342

2. THE UN SYSTEM OF COLLECTIVE SECURITY.........................................................

345

3. INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW.................................................................

3.1. Concept and basic principles...................................................................................

3.2. Categories of armed conflicts...................................................................................

3.2.1. International armed conflicts.........................................................................

3.2.2. Non-international armed conflicts.................................................................

3.3. The status of combatant and prisoner of war..........................................................

348 348 349 349 351 352

PART VI LANDMARK CASES Introduction INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLOMACY Prof. Dr. Eric Canal Forgues Alter 1. APPROACHING THE CONCEPT OF DIPLOMACY....................................................

1.1. Law, politics and diplomacy....................................................................................

1.2. Interactions with international institutions..............................................................

1.3. Use of force.............................................................................................................

358 359 360 362

2. APPROACHING THE CONCEPT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW...................................

2.1. International Law as a ‘marginal enterprise’ in diplomatic practice.........................

2.2. International law as an effective tool of diplomacy..................................................

2.3. Peace, justice and diplomacy....................................................................................

2.3.1. Resolving conflicts.........................................................................................

2.3.2. Ensuring accountability.................................................................................

362 363 364 367 367 368

Case I THE CASE CONCERNING UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR STAFF IN TEHERAN (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. IRAN) Ambassador Bernardino León Gross 1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................

371

2. THE FACTS....................................................................................................................

373

3. THE PHASE OF PROVISIONAL MEASURES................................................................

375

4. JURISDICTION..............................................................................................................

381

5. THE JUDGEMENT........................................................................................................

383

Index

15

Case II REPARATION FOR INJURIES SUSTAINED IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS Prof. Dr. Eric Canal Forgues Alter 1. ADVISORY OPINION OF 11 APRIL 1949....................................................................

1.1. International legal personality of the United Nations...............................................

1.2. Capacity to bring an international claim in respect of damage caused to the Organization.....................................................................................................................

1.3. Capacity to bring an international claim in respect of damage caused to the victim.

391 393 393 394

Case III MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY ACTIVITIES IN AND AGAINST NICARAGUA (NICARAGUA V. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) Prof. Dr. Eric Canal Forgues Alter 1. JUDGMENTS OF 26 NOVEMBER 1984 (JURISDICTION AND ADMISSIBILITY) AND 27 JUNE 1986 (MERITS)...............................................................................................

1.1. Introduction............................................................................................................

1.2. Jurisdiction and Admissibility..................................................................................

1.3. Merits......................................................................................................................

1.4. Impact.....................................................................................................................

397 397 398 401 404

GENERAL INTRODUCTION The book you are holding is intended as a tool not only for law students who must pass this subject as part of their curriculum, but also for any professional seeking to pursue a career in the international arena, whether as a lawyer, an international official, a diplomat, in short, in any field having to do with the foreign policy of States.

Indeed, these dualities —academics and professional activity, law and diplomacy— provide the foundation for the lessons in this book, which are presented as overviews. The volume does not aim to be a treatise, thoroughly systematizing all knowledge on the subject. Nevertheless, precisely to be useful to these professionals, these overviews are also duly contextualized. Each sector governed by international law is placed in context, its problems and conditioning factors are discussed, and the explanation is enriched with an analysis of the relevant State practice in each case.

Diplomacy and international law necessarily go hand in hand. One could even argue that, historically, international law would not have come into existence had it not been preceded by a certain minimum development of diplomacy. Likewise, diplomacy would be inconceivable today without the prior legal framework provided by international law and the limits it imposes. In this regard, the prevalence of one or the other has long been a matter of debate.

At the time of publication of this manual, we are witnessing an unprecedented aggression on European soil. The Russian Federation has invaded Ukraine, under the pretext of ‘de-Nazifying’ the government freely elected by the Ukrainian people and protecting certain pro-Russian minorities from an alleged genocide being conducted by that government. Neither international law nor diplomacy have proved particularly successful in preventing or stopping this aggression, casting doubt on the long-standing claim of the prevalence of politics (in the form of diplomacy) over legality and vice versa.

The nuance may lie not in the conflict itself, but in the responses to this illegitimate and illegal aggression. For, so far, the responses to this action —which is contrary to all diplomacy and law— have exquisitely adhered to the limits established by international law, both at the political level —with mass statements against Russia’s actions (United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/ EN-11/L.1; Council of Europe CM/Del/Dec8(2022)1426ter/2.3)— and in terms of those responses strictly rooted in the legal terrain, with a regime of targeted economic sanctions agreed in multilateral fora. Despite Russia’s provocations, any recourse to armed force by third States not involved in the conflict has thus been avoided. At the same time, the possibility of lodging claims with the compe-

18

Ana María Salinas de Frías

tent international judicial bodies against the internationally wrongful acts arising from Russia’s unilateral action and seeking the criminal responsibility of their perpetrators is being studied.

Today’s international society is globalized, lacking an external space to which to export conflicts between its members (MERLE); contradictory, insofar as this so-called globalization has been pursued only at the economic level (REMIRO), even as barriers have been erected to prevent the free movement of people, including even their ability to flee from the most horrifying conflicts; diverse and heterogeneous in every facet, a society in which Euro-centrism and Christian thought are no longer predominant (CASADO RAIGÓN), but in which there is likewise no room for any other form of groupthink, regardless of the culture and/or religion it might come from; multipolar, with groups of States led by regional powers and a great global power that only acts in certain circumstances and in relation to issues of strict national interest (RODRÍGUEZ CARRIÓN); and subject to continuous stress tests, given the immediacy of information and the unprecedented importance of the use of new technologies able to influence the political evolution of States and their populations in the most unexpected ways. In such a society, diplomacy and law are more necessary than ever.

Today’s international law thus cannot be understood without a minimum understanding of the international society on which it is based. In this regard, we are dealing with a society in which States remain the main subject of the international order, but are no longer the only one. This is because relations in the context of this social group are no longer relations of mere co-existence, but also cooperation, favoured by the emergence of international organizations as major players in current international society and the development of a very significant parliamentary diplomacy.

Today, the State is sometimes too small to deal with certain challenges (SUR), especially cross-border phenomena, such as security, nowadays under threat not only from a globalized terrorism, but also the environmental problems afflicting the planet. At the same time, the State may be too big to solve certain other problems that are ultimately better dealt with by other types of organizations, such as NGOs, even if they have not yet, as a result, acquired international subjectivity themselves. Other elements present in these relations, such as transnational corporations, the various ‘G-groups’, certain atypical subjects of international law, peoples (with increasing importance), individual persons, or major economic lobbies, play an ever more decisive role within this social group that international law seeks to regulate. All of this has resulted in a limitation and relativization of the sacrosanct concept of State sovereignty in favour of, amongst other things, a more prominent role for the individual person, a phenomenon that has been referred to as the ‘humanization of international law’, as well as a progressive institutionalization of international life through the creation and action of inter-

General introduction

19

national organizations. Nevertheless, the State remains the core element around which international law is created and applied today.

International law cannot be compared to State legal systems, given the lack of a legislative body with the power to make international laws —which, in any case, stem from the will of the State and must be consented to thereby in one way or another to become enforceable— Nor is there a centralized power superior to the States, able to impose respect for the international laws in force on them. It could be argued that this is the key distinctive feature that sets international law apart, the source of both its greatness and its misery (RODRÍGUEZ CARRIÓN), although it has not especially resulted in the mass breach of international norms, as is often claimed.

Indeed, whilst claims of a lack of compliance with international law and its uselessness are commonplace, they fail to acknowledge that, precisely because of its consensual nature, international law is characterized by its peaceful and regular implementation in the everyday affairs of States. Certainly, the specific breaches of it are especially serious and regularly make the front pages of the news, but the rate of violations worldwide is no higher than, for example, that of the crimes registered in the world’s different States entailing the repeated breach of domestic criminal laws (REMIRO).

In any case, in the face of what might seem to be a naive defence of international law given the evolution of contemporary international society, and keenly aware of its acceptance of an unequal distribution of political power amongst States that places a minority of them in a position of absolute privilege, we will not yield to the temptation —so common in the media and so often put to interested political use— of defending the material existence, today, of an international community, which would entail the real existence of a communion of values amongst the members of the current international society and which has sometimes been conflated with the United Nations and, in particular, its Security Council, resulting in a not insignificant number of misunderstandings (ABI-SAAB). At most, current international society combines relations of mere co-existence with relations of cooperation (FRIEDMANN), such that the law governing them is, at once, a legal system regulating the peaceful co-existence of sovereign and independent entities and the necessary cooperation between them, insofar as they are affected by a growing interdependence.

All law arises from a primordial social fact: societal life and the conflict of interests amongst its members. All legal rules can trace their origin to a practical motive, namely, the need to provide a solution to a conflict of interests (CASANOVAS). However, the fact that they are a solution to a conflict does not negate their legal nature, nor make them any less binding, as evidenced by the eagerness of the States involved to justify conducts that ‘deviate’ from the norm

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or the existence of an exceptional situation that led to the breach of international obligations in force, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, NATO’s controversial intervention in Kosovo, or, today, the reasons put forward by the Russian Federation for its aggression against Ukraine. The foundation and raison d’être of the binding nature of international norms today cannot be sought solely and exclusively in the will of sovereign States, but must also, and simultaneously, be sought in a legal reality that compels States regardless of their sovereign will, insofar as contemporary international law has gone beyond that mere conception of an aseptic compendium of State wills to embrace and protect essential values of contemporary international society (REISSMAN). As has been stated elsewhere, if international law were merely a product of will, it could not be binding on States, and if it really is binding on States, it cannot be merely the product of their will (CARRILLO SALCEDO). A purely objectivist view of international law would be a dangerous illusion; a purely voluntarist view would lead to self-destruction (WEIL).

In light of these considerations, the following pages will examine the subjects and sources of contemporary international law, the ways in which it is applied, and how the international legal order responds to the breach of those norms.

They will also look at the main material areas governed by this branch of law, placing special emphasis on the role of diplomacy in each case.

Málaga, 19 February 2022

Prof. Dr. ANA MARÍA SALINAS DE FRÍAS