Reference no: EM131138408 , Length: word count:5500

Part A-

INSTRUCTIONS

Answer any THREE of the following SIX questions.

1. Consider whether it is ever possible for a state to find itself in a contentious case at the International Court of Justice without having given its consent.

2. The government of the state of Vulcan, exasperated by sticky pavements in its cities, has recently passed a law stating that it is an offence to manufacture, sell, buy, import or consume bubblegum; such an offence would apply to anyone anywhere in the world. You have been asked to advise the government whether it would be compatible with international law to be applied to each of the following cases and, if so, for enforcement proceedings to be taken:

(a) Tuvok, a Vulcan national, and Paris, a Terran, have set up a bubblegum manufacturing operation in Tuvok's back garden in the capital city of Vulcan;

(b) Quark, a Ferengi citizen, has invented a scheme to smuggle bubblegum into Vulcan from the neighbouring state of Talax where he is resident. He persuades Neelix, a Talaxian, to help him. The government has heard about the plan and wants to know how, if at all, it can bring both smugglers before the courts in Vulcan, with or without their consent;

(c) Gowron, a citizen of Klingon, has been captured on the high seas by a ship of the Vulcan navy and has been accused of piracy. While detained on board the Vulcan ship, Gowron removes some bubblegum from his pocket and starts to chew it;

(d) Worf, the Klingon Ambassador in Vulcan, has a young son, Alexander, who loves bubblegum. Worf has arranged with a friend in the Klingon Foreign Ministry to include some packets of gum in the next diplomatic bag sent to Vulcan. It is has a particularly strong smell and a sniffer dog at the airport in Vulcan has indicated that the bag contains gum. The Vulcan customs officers have not opened the bag but they are detaining it at the airport and have notified the Embassy that they are not prepared to admit it;

(e) Kes, a gardener at the Ocampa Embassy in Vulcan, has been hoarding supplies of bubblegum in her greenhouse in the Embassy grounds. Odo, a policeman, has spotted her entering and leaving the grounds in a suspicious manner and has reported, "Yesterday she appeared to be chewing vigorously and I definitely heard a 'pop'." The Vulcan police wish to enter the Embassy and search the premises.

3. "The criteria for statehood are clearly stated in international law, although not always clearly applied by the international community in practice." Discuss.

4. As a result of volcanic activity, a new island is created in the sea off the coast of Sealand although outside Sealand territorial seas.  The new island comes to be known as Redland after the colour of its soil. 

Sealand considers Redland to be part of its territory because it is closest, but makes no official statement to that effect.  The island terrain is not very suitable for habitation, but Sealand builds a scientific observatory on Redland which is manned by researchers for the government's science department with support staff, all working there on a temporary basis.  The research team manager has been designated a "special constable" with limited police powers to keep order. The Government extends all Sealand laws to cover Redland.

Fishland state realises that the island would make a useful base for operations for its fishing fleet.  Fishland sends a naval force to land and plant the flag, and then announces in various shipping journals that it claims Redland as its territory.  Sealand is unaware of the claim.

For several years the Fishland fishing fleet regularly stops at the island in the fishing season, and housing is built there for the purpose. The base is on the other side of the island from the observatory, and the two groups of people pay little attention to each other.

Twenty years later, natural gas is discovered off the coast of Redland. Both Sealand and Fishland want to exploit the reserves and realise that they are in competition for sovereignty over Redland.  While they are attempting to negotiate a solution, a third state, Imperia, invades Redland by force and claims the island for itself.  Fishland fears that negotiations with Sealand are going badly, and offers to sell Redland to Imperia for payment of an agreed price.  Imperia accepts, and a treaty is signed by both parties passing title over Redland to Imperia.

Advise the Sealand government about the international law issues arising in this scenario.

5. The Chief Justice of Betazedhas been chosen to sit on the Bench of the International Court of Justice as an ad hoc judge in a case now before the Court. She has not studied international law and is having some difficulty in dealing with the mass of different materials submitted as part of the written proceedings. These materials include:

(a) a treaty to which both states are party, although one state has registered some reservations to articles of the treaty;

(b) a UN General Assembly Resolution for which the votes were recorded as 165:15:13;

(c) a previous decision of the International Court of Justice;

(d) an article in the American Journal of International Law by an Oxford University Professor; discussing a general principle of law relied on by one of the parties to the case;

(e) a legal opinion written by the Senior Legal Advisor to the Foreign Ministry of one of the parties and published in that state's Legislative Record.

Prepare a brief note for the Chief Justice outlining the sources of and evidence for international law, in the course of which you should advise her on the factors she should be taking into account when according appropriate emphasis to the above materials.

6. Bajor, which recently achieved independence from Cardassia, has nationalized large tracts of prime agricultural land owned by nationals of Cardassia. In announcing its intention to do so, the BajoranMinister for Religion has said that the land was required "for the important public purpose of building a new temple complex as an offering to the Prophets for freeing Bajor from Cardassian rule". He added that, since "the occupying farmers have already enjoyed the fruits of their plundered farmland for too long", the Bajoran Government had decided that it would not be appropriate to pay compensation to the dispossessed farmers. One of the largest farms is owned by a company which, although registered in Cardassia, has sold almost all its shares to nationals of Risa.

Following protests by the farmers, and local riots by supporters of the Bajoran Government, Garak, a farmer and Cardassian citizen who has lived in Bajor for over 30 years, was injured by a stray bullet when the police fired over the heads of the rioters. Zyal, his daughter, was assaulted and badly injured by two Bajoran citizens in full view of the Bajoran police, but no move has yet been made to arrest the two responsible.

Advise the Governments of Cardassia and Risa as to the possibilities of redress in international law for the farmers, the shareholders, Garak and Zyal.

Part B-

Answer any ONE of the following questions:

1. Should the international community adopt a wider definition of self-defence to enable states to respond by force to anticipated attacks without evidence that such an attack is imminent?

2. Critically examine the Russian arguments for annexing Crimea from the perspective of international law.  Does self-determination of the inhabitants of Crimea provide a satisfactory legal justification?

3. "The use of drones for targeted killings abroad raises complex questions of international law concerning use of force, international humanitarian law, and human rights law which states have so far not managed to resolve." Discuss.

4. Consider the international legal status of either Taiwan or Kosovo or the International Space Station.

5. Critically examine the contribution made by either the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to the development of the international law of genocide.

6. 'United Nations peacekeeping was not envisaged in the Charter, but has come to be a valuable tool in the maintenance of international peace and security.  Notwithstanding its success, serious concerns have arisen in relation to some peacekeeping operations.' Discuss.

7. Choose one aspect of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, such as fisheries or deep seabed mining, and assess the effectiveness of the Convention rules.

8. 'Having regard to the recent developments in the Arctic, such as climate change, maritime zone claims and the possibility of a northwest passage, there is a need for a new treaty regime to cover this polar area, comparable to the Antarctic Treaty System.' Discuss.