Can International Law Be Enforced Towards Its Subj

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CAN INTERNATIONAL LAW BE ENFORCED TOWARDS ITS SUBJECTS WITHIN

THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ORDER?
Article · April 2014

DOI: 10.20885/iustum.vol21.iss2.art2
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Fajri MM. Can International Law... 175
Can International Law be Enforced Towards its Subjects

Within the International Legal Order?
Fajri Matahati Muhammadin

Lecturer of International Law International Undergraduate Program
Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada The Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Sosio-Yustisia, Bulaksumur, Sleman, Yogyakarta.
fajri.matahati@gmail.com
Abstract
Can international law be enforced? This begs a question, thus problem, in the theory of law: whether
there can be enforcement of law in absence of sovereign authority, as is the case of International law.
International law has become its own legal order with its own unique way of operating. This writing is
a normative research on the sources and reality of the actors of international law. It is found that
international law is enforceable and that there are two ways that international law can be enforced, i.e.
enforcement by “authorities” formed by treaty regimes, and by non-authorities (including enforcement
individual states and by the international community). It is also found that these enforcement means
have their weaknesses.
Key words : Enforcement, sanction, compliance
Abstrak
Dapatkah hukum internasional ditegakkan? Ini menimbulkan sebuah pertanyaan, sekaligus
permasalahan, dalam teori hukum: apakah akan ada penegakan hukum dalam ketidakhadiran
pemerintah yang berdaulat, misalnya hukum internasional. Hukum internasional telah menjadi tatanan
hukum mandiri yang memiliki cara kerjanya sendiri yang unik. Tulisan ini merupakan sebuah penelitian
normatif mengenai sumber-sumber dan realitas pelaku hukum internasional. Diketahui bahwa hukum
internasional dapat ditegakkan dan terdapat dua cara untuk penegakkannya, yaitu penegakan oleh
“otoritas” yang dibentuk oleh rejim yang berkuasa, dan oleh non-penguasa (termasuk penegakan oleh
negara secara individual dan oleh komunitas internasional). Juga diketahui bahwa penegakan semacam
ini memiliki kelemahannya masing-masing.
Kata kunci: Penegakan, sanksi, kepatuhan

176 Jurnal Hukum IUS QUIA IUSTUM NO. 2 VOL. 21 APRIL 2014: 175 - 202
Introduction
Does international law really exist? This has been one of the most classic theoretical
debates in the field of law generally and international law specifically. One of the
problems that is at the heart of this debate is the enforceability of international law.1In
this particular problem, one may ask: is the existence of enforcement essential as a
requirement of a law?Austin, in the 19th century, argues that enforcement is required2
while Hart, a little over a century later, argues otherwise.3 However, this essay will
not indulge in the debate on whether international law is law, or whether a law
requires an enforcement mechanism for it to be called a law.
Austin’s argument was that a law would require: enforcement in form sanctions
for acts of disobedience, and such sanctions are imposed by the sovereign or officials.The
fact remains that there is no such thing as a world government acting as a sovereign
authority. International politics has and is still witnessing numerous problems which
begs a question on whether or not international law can be enforced.
Why has the law been very strong against (the former) Yugoslavia for what it
did in the Yugoslav wars, but very silent about Palestine? Why was it so easy for a
very large state alliance to be established to fight the ‘Islamic State’ (formerly the
Islamic State of Iraq and Sham or ISIS) who were brutal but in reality has killed not
so many civilians, while nothing could be done against the Bashar al-Assad regime
of Syria who has clearly killed hundreds of thousands of children?
The situation begs numerous questions. Does the sanctions have to be imposed
by a sovereign for the rule to be concluded as ‘law’? Or, while we are at it, is there
even any law at all? These are questions on whether International law is indeed a
law or not. While the necessity of a sovereign authority will be briefly explained in
Section III of this essay, but as mentioned earlier, ‘whether International law is a
law’ is not the focus here.
This research will explore the actors of international law which has been found
to de facto practice enforcement towards subjects of international law bearching the
1
Oona Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro, “Outcasting : Enforcement in Domestic and International Law”, Yale
Law Journal, Vol. 121, No. 2 (2011), pp. 252-349, at pp. 255-256.
2
John Austin. 1832. The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (found at http://www.koeblergerhard.de/Fontes/
AustinJohnTheprovinceofjurisprudencedetermined1832.pdf , accessed 3 March 2014, 9.24 pm) Brian H. Bix. Legal
Positivism. In Martin P. Golding and William A. Edmundson (eds). 2005. The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law
and Legal Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, p. 39
3
H. L. A. Hart, The Concept of Law (Second Edition), Oxford University Press, New York, 1994, pp. 217-220
law. First, it will be found that there actually are “authorities” created by treaty
regimes. Their nature and shortcomings in enforcing international law will be explored.
Second, the focus will shift to “non-authorities”. This part, which includes enforcement
by individual states an the international community, will show that international
law can be enforced despite the absence of “authorities”. On both parts, however, it
will also be explained that shortcomings also exist.
Research Questions
This research focuses on the following questions: is international law, despite

the absence of a sovereign authority, enforceable? If it is, how is it enforceable? What
are the shortcomings of the different ways of enforcing international law that is re-
sponsible for the apparent ‘mishaps’ in the enforcement?
Purpose of Research
The purpose of this research is to know whether or not international law can
be enforced, and to understand the ways and shortcomings of each ways of such
enforcement.
Research Method
This research is a normative research, conducted by observing the sources of

international law as well as the conduct of actors of international law, all taken from
secondary data (document and literature study only). On the subject of law materials,
researches on international law might not follow similar classification to that of
national laws. In national law, primary law materials would include authoritative
sources (e.g. statutory legislation and judicial decisions) while secondary law materials
would include works of scholars.
In international law, however, as Peter Marzuki notes, authoritative sources of law
would refer to sources of international law including what is mentioned in Article 38(1)
of the ICJ Statute4 —which includesthe works of the most highly qualified publicists
which would normally be considered as secondary law materials. In that note, Peter
4
Peter Mahmud Marzuki, Penelitian Hukum (Edisi Revisi), Penerbit Kencana, Rawamangun, 2005, p. 208-209.
Marzuki did not make a distinction between primary and secondary law materials
in discussing law materials in international law. However, only the ‘most highly
qualified publicists’ may be seen as an authoritative source of international law,
which may imply some distinction from other ‘lesser qualified’ (if it could be put
that way) work of scholars to be considered as secondary law materials. Tertiary
legal materials (e.g. media resources) are used to supplement the other materials.
From the available materials, this research will use a qualitative approach to answer
the research questions.
Discussion and Result
Enforcement by “Authorities”
Austin’s view on international law is highly dependent on the historical setting

where he lived. Austin says international law is not a law, as it has no sovereign
body or officials and sanctions are merely moral.At his time, it may seem that the
only model of a sovereign would be governments of states –such authority is
explained by many theories,inter alia the social contract theory where the society
enters a ‘contract’ with the sovereign.5
However, Austin may have not seen what would come in the next century.
Groups of states have gathered and ratified international treaties containing rights
and responsibilities to its parties, and also establishing certain bodies to enforce
these rights and responsibilities therefore becoming some sort of ‘authority’ regime
for the parties (and in some cases, to non-parties). Examples of such bodies would
be the United Nations (UN) with an authoritative organ such as the UN Security Council
(UNSC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) with its Dispute Settlement Body
(DSB). These bodies serve as “authorities” due to the treaty provisions which are
consented to and therefore binding to the members (as will be explained later). This,
to some extent, may resemble the authority of a state to its citizens.
The following would be some comprehensive analysis on how ‘authorities’ in
treaty regimes can enforce international law, using the UNSC and the DSB as samples.
5
See also the interesting approach by van Apeldoorn saying that the concept of positive law and its authority to
be binding the society is some form of contract between the society and sovereign. L. J. van Apeldoorn,
PengantarIlmuHukum (translated from Inleiding tot de Studie van het NederlandseRecht), PradnyaParamita, Jakarta, 2008,
pp. 155-159
The Security Council Enforcing the Law of Peace. Article 1(1) of the UN
Charter6mentions the first purpose of the UN as well as the desire to enforce it: “To
maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective
measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression
of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace…”.7
To achieve the purposes of the UN, Article 2 outlines the general obligations of
the member states, including the prioritizing of peaceful means to settle dispute as
well as the prohibition to the threat or use of force.8 It may be interesting to note that
Article 2(5) mentions the possibility of the UN to take ‘…preventive or enforcement
action’.Further, the last parts of Article 2(7) mentions the ‘…application of enforcement
measures under Chapter VII’ as an exception to what appears to be a non-intervention
policy in the first parts of that article.
Chapter VII of the UN Charter, in Article 2(7) being the basis of enforcement,
outlines how the UNSC conducts the enforcement, as mandated by the UN in Article
24, obligatory to all UN members by virtue of Article 25 (even arguably to non-UN
members, e.g. Resolution 757 [1992] to Serbia and Montenegro, a non-UN member
at the time). These acts of enforcement can be in form of ‘...measures not involving the
use of armed forces...’, as per article 41 of the UN Charter, or also use of armed forces as
per article 42.
History has shown that measures under article 41 have taken various forms.
There has been an arms ban through Resolution No. 418 (1977) against South Africa,
economic sanctions and even sports and culture embargo in Resolution 757 (1992)
towards the Yugoslavian government. There has been also asset freezes to Iran
through Resolution 1737 (2006), and even to non-state actors e.g. terrorist group
members through Resolution 1333 (2000).
Further, the SC has established ad-hoc international tribunals to enforce
international criminal law, e.g. Resolution No. 827 (1993) establishing the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which’s legitimacy was challenged by
the first defendant before that court (DuskoTadic).9 After the establishment of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998, the ICC Statute10 provides the possibility
6
Charter of the United Nations (1945)
7
With added emphasis
8
Article 2(3) and 2(4) of the UN Charter
9
Albeit dismissed. See: ICTY: Tadic Case, Trial Chamber Decision on the Defence Motion on Jurisdiction, and
Appeals Chamber Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction
10
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998)
for the SC to refer the case to it.11The SC first exercised this through Resolution No.
1593 (2005) on the situation in Darfur.
The enforcement of Article 42 of the UN Charter, as previously mentioned, utilizes
force to ensure compliance. What may be a straight forward form of this was through
Resolution No. 678 (1990) threatening Iraq with armed attack. As consequence of
some conditions in the aforementioned SC Resolution, Iraq’s force wasthenattacked.12
Other forms of application of Article 42 could be naval blockades through Resolution
665 (1990) towards Iraq.
Another act of enforcement that the SC can do is to enforce judgements by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in case of failure of compliance. This is regulated
in Article 94(2) of the UN Charter, which mentions that the SC ‘..if it deems necessary,
make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment’.
One could infer from the mandate of the SC that this might only be done shall the
situation is within the domain of maintaining international peace and security. This
has been utilized in the case of Bosnia v. Yugoslavia, when the court ordered
provisional measures,13and the SC issued Resolution No. 819 (1993). Although
this resolution was issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, it is still unclear
whether such resolution was meant to be a confirmation of the use of Article 94(2) of
the UN Charter towards this case as the order was just ‘noted’ in the preamble and
did not mention Article 94(2).14
WTO and the DSB
The WTO is an organization built to face the challenges of globalization by

regulating international trade,15 with 159 members including states and other economic
entities.16 The WTO aspires to achieve a global free trade by imposing two main
11
Article 13 of the ICC Statute
12
John Yoo, “International Law and the War in Iraq”, American Journal of International Law, Vol. 97 (2003), pp.
563-576, at p.564.
13
Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Provisional Measures, Order
of 8 April1993, I.C.J. Reports 1993, p. 3; and Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, Provisional Measures, Order of 13 September 1993, I. C.J. Reports 1993, p. 325
14
Attila Tanzi, “Problems of Enforcement of Decisions of the International Court of Justice and the Law of
the United Nations”, European Journal of International Law, Vol .6 (1995), pp.539-572, at p.566.
15
Peter Van den Bossche, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases, and Materials, Cambridge
University Press, New York, 2005, p.35.
16
WTO Official Website.Members and Observers (found at http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/
tif_e/org6_e.htm accessed 12 March 2014
principles that should be applied in international trade, i.e.:17 1) Non-Discrimination:

A state should treat all other states equally (Most Favored Nation Principle), and
should also treat foreign and locals equally (National Treatment Principle); 2) Freer
Trade: reducing trade barriers gradually through negotiation; 3) Predictability: with
binding and transparency; 4) Promoting fair competition: allowing tariffs and certain
forms of protection in certain situations; 5) Encouraging development and economic
reform: Flexibility for developing countries.
When a member feels violated due to the breach of WTO law by another member
or a respondent, the injured member can trigger the mechanism of the DSB governed
by the DSU.18 At the end of the series of processes, when the DSB has already made
a ruling in against the respondent member who then does not comply, the DSB can
authorize the injured state to impose certain countermeasures.19
An example to this would be the Australia v. Canada salmon dispute, where
Canada filed a complaint due to Australia’s prohibition on certain kinds of salmon
from Canada.This case occurred because Australia prohibited certain imports of salmon
from Canada, alleging that it was unsafe for consumption.20 The DSB ruled in favour
of Canada because it found that Australia did not conduct proper investigation and
lack scientific evidence to make such restriction. After that decision, it was Canada’s
threat to request authorization through the DSB to retaliate that contributed largely to
the compliance of Australia towards that ruling.21
Shortcomings of the “authority enforcement”
The capacity of the SC is not without problems, which mostly lies in the realm
of politics. The first problem that would rise would be legitimacy issues due to lack
of representation and existence of veto rights for the permanent members,22 which
clearly makes the permanent members (and their allies) immune from the law. Out
17
WTO Official Website.Principles of the Trading System (found at http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/
whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm#seebox accessed 20 February 2014)
18
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes or Dispute Settlement
Understanding (1994).
19
Article 22(6) of the DSU
20
Case No. WT/DS18/R, 12 June 1998
21
Steve Charnovitz, “Rethinking WTO Sanctions”, The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 95, No. 4
(2001), pp. 792-832, at p.797
22
David D. Caron, “The Legitimacy Of The Collective Authority Of The Security Council”, American Journal of
International Law, Vol. 87 (1993), pp.552-588, at p.566
of 193 members that we have today, the SC only consists of 15 members.23 Perhaps
all members of the UN have already ratified the UN Charter, therefore meaning that
they would have agreed that any decisions by the SC would be binding to them.24
However, there is new law that will emerge out of the SC resolutions which might
not represent what the majority of UN members desire.
This has been seen after the Nicaragua case, where the ICJ ruled against the USA.25
The USA refused to comply with the judgement, and when Nicaragua invoked Article
94(2) of the UN Charter to the SC to demand enforcement, the USA vetoed the
attempt.26 The UN General Assembly (GA), on the other hand, managed to pass a
Resolution No. A/RES/41/31 (1986) which urges the USA to comply to the ICJ
judgment. The UN GA has no problems of representation as it consists of all members
of the UN,27 although their resolutions are not binding. However, the fact that
Resolution No. A/RES/41/31 (1986) was adopted (94 for, 3 against, and 47 abstentions)28
shows how there can be a big contrast between what the general UN community
wishes and the UN Security Council wishes (which even there, the resolution only
had one “against” vote, which was the USA).
The use of veto rights has also further prevented actions of the SC on other
grave issues. There have been numerous UN GA resolutions condemning Israel
gross violations of human rights towards the Palestinians in e.g. No. 2546 (1969) and
No. 43/54 (1988), and the Goldstone Commission report bringing more evidence of
those violations.29 However, no kind of enforcement has ever been done towards
the Israel. All the SC has ever done is to “strongly condemn” e.g. through Resolu-
tion No. 672 (1990), and even numerous draft resolutions that attempted to ‘only’
condemn Israel and call for cessation of violations has been vetoed by the USA since
the 2000s,30 let alone make any sanctions.31
23
Article 23(1) of the UN Charter
24
Article 25 of the UN Charter
25
Militarv and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Merits, Judg-
ment. I.C.J. Reports 1986, p. 14.
26
UN Security Council Meeting Record S/PV.2718, 28 October 1986 (found at http://www.un.org/en/ga/
search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/PV.2718 , accessed 4 March 2014, 2.51am)
27
Article 9(1) of the UN Charter
28
Resolutions adopted by the GA at its 41st Session (found at http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/
r41_en.shtml accessed 4 March 2014, at 3.02am)
29
Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict No. A/HRC/12/48, 25 September 2009.
30
Security Council Veto List (found at http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/scact_veto_en.shtml accessed
4 March 2014 at 3.27am).
31
SalibaSarsar, “The Question of Palestine and United States Behavior at the United Nations”, International
Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Vol. 17, No. 3 (2004), pp. 457-470, at pp.460-467
The African Union (AU) tension with the ICC is highly related to the SC.One of
the reasons of this tension is the alleged ‘targeted prosecutions’ towards African
leaders.32SC takes part by referring two situations to the ICC: Sudan and Libya.33
This is while failing to act upon alleged serious crimes in Palestine, Iraq, Syria, etc.
The problem of the WTO enforcement system is that it relies purely on reciprocity
by the injured member, which will be explored in the next section.
Enforcement without Authorities
The previous section has explored that, unlike the international law that Austin
may have seen, it is not impossible for international law to have “authority” regimes.
This section will show that, even without such “authority” regimes, international
law can still be enforced. There are two kinds of enforcement in international law that
may occur without authorities, i.e. enforcement by individual states (either retaliation
by victim state through reciprocity, or by a third state) and by the international
community as a whole. It will also be seen how the effectiveness (or lack there of)
may also depend on this category of enforcement.
Individual States
Hart counters Austin’s submission on the necessity of a sovereign in law

enforcement, arguing that the sovereign itself is not independent to other kinds of law
and influences and therefore law cannot be pictured to definitely require a sovereign.34
He notes how custom can be a source of law, where a sovereign does not necessarily
exist in that respect.35 While Hart mentions that, in a domestic system, customary
laws are usually seen as ‘subordinate laws’,36 actually international law recognizes
customary laws as a primary source of law.37 To understand the nature of customary
international law is crucial, especially because it is the oldest kind of law.38
32
Max du Plessis, TiyanjanaMaluwa, and Annie O’Reilly.Africa and the International Criminal Court, p. 2-3 (found
at http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/International%20Law/0713pp_iccafrica.pdf
accessed 4 March 2014 at 4.08 am )
33
SC Resolution No. 1593 (2005) and No. 1970 (2011) for Sudan and Libya respectively
34
Note 3, pp. 50-78
35
Ibid., p. 49
36
Ibid., p. 45
37
Article 38(1)(b) of the ICJ Statute
38
Malcom Shaw, International Law (Sixth Edition), Cambridge University Press, New York, 2008, pp.72-73
With the constant practice of states feeling a sense of legal obligation (opinion
juris), comes customary international law.39 What motivates states to comply? Scholars
differ on this. Some international lawyers would say that it is that sense of legal
obligation that motivates them.40 However, international relations theorists have
considered another possibility.Game theory analysisshows that the motivation to
comply are: the coincidence of interest, coercion, bilateral repeated prisoner’s
dilemma, and bilateral coordination, all of them essentially practiced in their own
dimension by state(s) to maximise their own interest (instead of actual ‘sense of
legal obligation’).41
By this, the enforcement mechanism to comply with the law is reciprocity: if the
fact that cooperating (i.e. following rules) would generally ensure maximal benefit
to the state(s) own interest, while not cooperating (i.e. violating rules) would generally
inflict loss.This is perhaps one of the most concrete and natural enforcement, which
comes in form of denying the benefits of social cooperation.42
Interestingly, the compliance to international agreements (treaties) may also be
due to the same reasons as stipulated in the previous paragraph.43Even the
aforementioned SC enforcement stems out of treaty obligation, and we know that
the law of treaties started as customary international law as well.44
Therefore, the enforcement by the international community by virtue of reciprocity
is very important.Although at the start is to be used to explain the relations between
two states, reciprocity is repeated into massive scale in the multi-state international
community into what will seem to be a regularity of practice. This is either through
the massive scale of bilateral reciprocities, or even a collectivity of states towards an
individual state.45 This section, however, will focus first on the bilateral reciprocity
and the acts of individual states only.
39
S.S. Lotus (Fr. v. Turk.), 1927 P.C.I.J. (Ser. A) No.10 (Sept. 7), p.28
40
Note 38, p.80
41
Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A., Posner, The Limits of International Law, Oxford University Press, New York,
2005, p. 40-42
42
Note 1, p. 302
43
Ibid., pp. 90-91
44
Alan Boyle and Christine Chinkin, The Making of International Law, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007,
pp.190-191; see also Note 38, p. 94
45
Note 41, p. 56
Retaliation of the Injured State through Reciprocity
A general rule on reciprocity to enforce international law is the rule on

countermeasures. Article 22 of the ILC Draft on State Responsibilities for Internationally
Wrongful Act(2001)46 mentions: “The wrongfulness of an act of a State not in conformity
with an international obligation towards another State is precluded if and to the extent that act
constitutes a countermeasure taken against the latter State in accordance with chapter II of
Part Three”.
Among those cited by the ILC in its commentary is the ICJ Gabcíkovo-Nagymaros
case.47 The restriction to that rule is mentioned in Chapter II of Part Three in that
same ILC draft:48 1. an injured State may only take countermeasures against a State which is
responsible for an internationally wrongful act in order to induce that State to comply with its
obligations under part two; 2. countermeasures are limited to the non-performance for the
time being of international obligations of the State taking the measures towards the responsible
State; 3. countermeasures shall, as far as possible, be taken in such a way as to permit the
resumption of performance of the obligations in question. Another note is that Article 26
of that Draft mentions that countermeasures may not be done in such a way that it
violates peremptory norms (Jus Cogens).
An example of enforcement by reciprocity outside the regime of
“authorities”(unlike the WTO DSB) isin the field of international humanitarian law
(IHL). It may be important to first note that, as a matter of law, compliance towards
IHL principally should not be based on reciprocity.This is based on the Geneva
Conventions (1949) in Common Article 1 and 3, mentioning that those provisions
apply in ‘all circumstances’. The International Committee of the Red Cross understood
this to mean,inter alia, that IHL should not be applied based on reciprocity.49The ICJ
held similarly in the Namibia Case.50 On the level of philosophy, it has even been
submitted that IHL is based on altruistic love for a human being.51
However, reality shows that reciprocity does play a major role in the respect
towards the laws and customs of war and used as an enforcement mechanism. Even
46
Hereinafter the “Draft on SR”
47
Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v. Slovakia), Judgment, 1. C. J. Reports 1997, p. 7, para 83
48
Article 48, Draft on SR
49
Louis Doswald-Beck, and Jean-Marie Haenckarts. 2005. ICRC Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol.
I, Rules. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.498-499
50
Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstand-
ing Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1971, p. 16., para.96
51
See generally, Eva Wartel, “Humanitarians and their moral stance in war: the underlying values”, International
Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 91, No. 876 (2009), pp.779-802
in history of warfare, combatants have some general understanding that there is a

benefit to: respecting surrenders and wounded opponents, refrain from treacherous
acts, etc.52As failure to respect that, there are examples of reprisals as retaliation to
violations, such as King Saladin executing French prisoners of war in retaliation to
the Crusaders executing Muslim civilians.53
Even in a more modern context of IHL, some extent of reciprocity may have role.
An evidence to this is the existence of belligerent reprisals.Traditionally, belligerent
reprisals might not necessarily be in conformity with IHL per se, as by definition it
does mean to conduct an unlawful act as retaliation to another unlawful act by the
adverse party.54 However, there seems to be room for belligerent reprisals with certain
restrictions.
The Kupreskic Casedoes mention that belligerent reprisals can be legal as long as
they fulfil a few requirements: done as last resort to ensure adversary compliance to
IHL, taking precautionary measures, proportionality, and elementary considerations
of humanity.55This is generally consistent with practices stemming from Article 27 of
the Lieber Code, for example the UK’s reservation to Article 51-55 when ratifying
the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (1977).56 Bear in mind that Article
51-55 of the aforementioned Protocol regulates the protection of civilians and other
objects in times of war, with a particular interest in 51(6) and 52(1) which explicitly
prohibits reprisals towards civilians. Belligerent reprisals towards civilians is exactly
the type of reprisals that was specifically prohibited by the Kupreskic Case (although
admitting that some authorities may say that some belligerent reprisals to civilians
can be lawful, as there are not sufficient state practice to indicate a general rule
prohibiting it entirely).57
52
Sean Watts, “Reciprocity and the Law of War”, Harvard International Law Journal, Vol. 50, No. 2 (2009), pp.365-
434, at pp.387-388
53
Guizot, M., A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times: Vol II. Boston: Dana Estes & Charles E. Lauriat.
54
Milan Kuhli and Klaus Gunther, “Judicial Lawmaking, Discourse Theory, and the ICTY
on Belligerent Reprisals”, German Law Journal, Vol. 12 No. 5 (2011), pp. 1261-1278, at p.1268
55
ICTY: Kupreskic et al Case, Trial Chamber Judgment, para.535
56
ICRC Official Website. Ratification of the Additional Protocols by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland (found at http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jp54.htm accessed 6 March 2014,
10.05am)
57
Note 55, para 522 and 527.
58
Shane Darcy, “The Evolution Of The Law Of Belligerent Reprisals”, Military Law Review, Vol. 175 (2003), pp.
184-251, at pp.220-244
There are controversies to the extent of which belligerent reprisals can be lawful.58
However, the previous authorities are clear that the idea of belligerent reprisals in
general is a lawful way of enforcing compliance to IHL.
Unilateral Actions by Third Parties
The previous subsection talked about how victims of the particular rule violation
could react in such a way to enforce compliance towards the state that made such
violation, as a consequence of reciprocity. This subsection, on the other hand, will
explore individual state(s) role in enforcing international law despite not directly
being victim of that particular rule.As the cases will show, unilateral actions by third
parties are usually doneto assist the direct victim due to the request or helplessness
of the latter.
Article 48 of the Draft on SR mentions: 1. Any State other than an injured State is
entitled to invoke the responsibility of another State in accordance with paragraph 2 if: (a) The
obligation breached is owed to a group of States including that State, and is established for the
protection of a collective interest of the group; or (b) The obligation breached is owed to the
international community as a whole.
See also Article 54: “This chapter does not prejudice the right of any State, entitled
under article 48, paragraph 1, to invoke the responsibility of another State, to take lawful
measures against that State to ensure cessation of the breach and reparation in the interest of
the injured State or of the beneficiaries of the obligation breached”
Particularly focusing on Article 48(1)(b) there, the logic is that if there are cer-
tain obligations that is owed to the entire international community as a whole, then
any state will have interest despite not actually having direct interest per se. The ICJ
mentioned this kind of obligation in the Barcelona Traction Case59which was also cited
in the ILC commentaries to the Draft of SR.60An example of an ergaomnesobligation is
to comply with the rules in the Convention Against Torture, as the ICJ held in 2012.61
There are two possible ways to enforce these ergaomnesobligations by a non-
injured state: by individual state(s) and collectively by the international community
through collective mechanisms. This particular subsection (as did the entire section)
will focus on individual state(s) first.
59
Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, Limited, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1970, p. 3., para.33
60
Draft articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, with commentaries (2001), p.126
61
Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2012, p.
422, para 69
There are a number of instances where individual states have been taking part
in enforcingergaomnes obligations. An example would be the arrest of Augusto
Pinochet in Britain. What happened to Pinochet was the first time when a former
head of state (who would normally enjoy immunity from jurisdiction of the courts
of other states) was declared to be subject to the jurisdiction of another state’s national
court.
Spanish Judges issued an international arrest warrant against Pinochet for
numerous crimes towards Spanish nationals in Chile, including torture.62 Pinochet
was then arrested and the UK courts processed the possibility of extraditing him to
Spain.63 Finally, the UK House of Lords decided that it can extradite Pinochet, despite
the (former) head of state immunity enjoyed by him.64 However, Pinochet was then
released as he was later seen to be medically unfit.65 This particular case became an
important case, which had to be carefully examined by the ICJ’s Arrest Warrant Case
and is understood to display how former heads of states do not enjoy immunity
from jurisdiction in case of ergaomnesviolations.66
Other instances where third parties have unilaterally enforced international
obligations would be embargos towards Israel due to the violence perpetrated towards
the Palestinians by the Arab League nations. The member states of the Arab League
have boycotted Zionist-related interests since 1945, and formally organized an economic
boycott to the State of Israel since 1948.67The boycott has three tiers, which are to
prohibit (although not binding to) the Arab League nations from having:68 1. business
relations with the Israeli government or citizen; 2. business relations with any entities
world-wide that does business with Israel; 3. business relations companies that in
turn deals with companies that have been blacklisted by the Arab League; 4. the
enforcement of the boycott varies. Some never did the boycott (e.g. Mauritania),
some only enforce the first tier (e.g. Saudi Arabia, and even then, they are trying to
62
Andrea Bianchi, ”Immunity versus Human Rights: The Pinochet Case”, European Journal of International Law,
Vol.10 (1999), pp.237-277, p. 238
63
Ibid.
64
R. v Bow Street Stipendiary Magistrate Ex. P. PinocetUgarte (No. 3) [2000] 1 A.C. 147
65
BBC News. Pinochet Set Free, 2 March 2000 (Found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/663170.stm accessed
8 March 2014, 11.17pm)
66
Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium), Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 2002, p. 3,
para. 56-57
67
Martin A. Weiss, Arab League Boycott of Israel.Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, 19 December
2013 (Found at https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33961.pdf accessed 8 March 2014 at 11.46pm), p.1
68
Ibid., p. 2
avoid the boycott) and then eliminated it completely, and only Lebanon is enforcing
all tiers of the boycott.69
More recently, other states have also started small but clear hard actions to
build up further pressure to Israel. Among them, Norway’s finance ministry excludes
certain Israel firms from government pension funds, while Romania has forbidden its
citizens to work in West Bank companies.70 This is after the European Union (although
not exactly an individual state) released a Guideline on Activities in Israel Occupied
Territories,71 which outlines a number of policies that also apply pressure towards
Israel (e.g. not recognizing the occupied territories as lawfully occupied, and the
cutting of EU supports regarding activities in those areas).
Military intervention may be one of the forms of ways which states have done
to enforce compliance towards international law.Normally, the use of force is
prohibited under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. However, as mentioned previously
in the section of Enforcement by “Authorities”, Article 42 of the UN Charter provides
possibility for the SC to authorize legitimate uses of force to enforce compliance
towards certain international obligations.An example to this would be the armed
attack towards Iraqi forces by the USA-led forces in 1991 as previously explained
already. This is both an example of enforcement by the SC as well as by individual
state(s).
Shortcomings of Actions by Individual States
It has been mentioned how the compliance of states towards legal obligations
are governed more by their own interest rather than that of their sense of legal
obligation.72The only logical consequence to that is if there is a collision between
‘obeying legal obligations’ and ‘obtaining interest’, certainly the choice will not be
the former. It is generally more beneficial for states to cooperate even when not
necessarily always achieving maximum or any interest at all, but then at least losses
can be minimized.73
69
Ibid., p. 2-3
70
The Economist.Sanctions Against Israel: A Campaign That Is Gaining Weight, 8 February 2014 (Found at http:/
/www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21595948-israels-politicians-sound-rattled-campaign-isolate-their-
country accessed 9 March 2014 at 00.15am)
71
Guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel
since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards (2013/C
205/05)
72
See Note. 41 especially
73
Ibid
However, this is but a general conclusion that does not exempt the possibility
of states to always cooperate. Not only that there are times where indeed greater
interest can be achieved (or greater loss can be avoided) by violating rules, but also
the schemes of cooperation does allow the possibility of repairing relations after
such violations are done.74
Such a scenario illustrated in the previous paragraph is certainly an over
simplification. The complexity of real world politics will show how there can be
more incentives for states to not comply with rules and act on personal interest
instead. Following the same logic, enforcement measures conducted by individual
states can also be done to pursue personal interest –particularly in situations where
this personal interest collides with legal obligations.
Agrand example to this would be the USA’s attitude towards Israel with respect
to violations towards the Palestinians.This example will show how the act of individual
states can,instead of enforce compliance towards international obligations, but enforce
the violation towards that international obligation as well as secure it from other
attempts of enforcements.
There is no question on the intimacy of relationship between the USA and Israel
on so many areas, including but not limited to: military, economic, political, etc.75
One of the aforementioned shortcomings of the SC as enforcement is at the same
time a shortcoming of individual state(s) conducting enforcement. It has already
been explored how the acts of Israel towards the Palestinians are clearly unlawful
and has been condemned by an overwhelming majority of states. It has also been
noted how the failure of the SC to issue any binding sanctions or even condemnations
towards Israel is due to the Veto of the USA.
Outside the UN arena, it is seen that the acts of the USA enforces its own interest
rather than that of the international legal obligations. An example to this would be
the military cooperation. The success of the building of weapons and defence industry
in Israel is owed to the aid of the USA.76 It is not difficult to connect this military
cooperation to the violations committed by Israel, bearing in mind the Israeli weapon
74
Robert Axelrod. 1984. The Evolution of Cooperation. New York: Basic Books, Inc, pp.27-54
75
Note 31, at pp.460-462
76
Jeremy M. Sharp. U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel.Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, 12 March 2012
(Found at http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/187412.pdf accessed 9 March 2014 at 2.33am), p.1
company websites (e.g. Israel Military Industry77 and Israel Weapon Industry78)
describe most if not all of their products to be ‘combat-proven’.
Another example of a ‘third state enforcement’ was the 2003 Iraq invasion. Unlike
the 1991 invasion which has no question in its legality, the US-led invasion to Iraq
was an example of virtually unquestionable illegality. They had a two layered
justifications for the invasion: 1. Enforcing SC Resolution 678 (1990) and 687 (1991), due to
material breach of peace conditions by Iraq,79 2. Self-defence towards Saddam Hussein’s threats.80
However, overwhelming voices from States both in the UN GA and SCisevidence
how the international community neither supports such understanding of the
aforementioned SC Resolutions, nor is there any threattowards international peace
that might justify the claim of Self Defence.81 Yet, as we have witnessed, the invasion
happened anyway. It is not hard to conclude that, no matter how obvious was the
USA violations were, the SC will never be able to act due to USA’s veto rights.
The problem of enforcement by individual states does not necessarily lie in the
priority of state interest as opposed to international legal obligation. There are
instances where problems can be caused by difference of interpretations of what the
legal obligations are. The first example to this would also be the USA invasion to
Iraq in 2003. The act by the USA is actually not necessarily a blatant disregard of
law. If other motivations are put aside, we can see the problem as USA offering an
interpretation of law that just so happens to be against the international community’s
interpretation. It just so happens that, in this context, the latter’s interpretation would
be seen as more authoritative.
Another example to that would be the ICJ Arrest Warrant Case. An international
arrest warrant in absentia was issued against Congo’s Foreign Minister for war crimes
and crimes against humanity under universal jurisdiction.82 The way Belgium
understands the law, immunity from criminal jurisdiction is not enjoyed for acts
77
Official Website of Israel Military Industry (http://imi-israel.com/home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68506 accessed
at 9 March 2014 at 2.40am)
78
Official Website of Israel Weapon Industry (http://www.israel-weapon.com/default.asp?catid
=%7BFF7A51A4-4AF9-410D-A2B0-860E9D4F6D2F%7D accessed at 9 March 2014 at 2.31am)
79
Alex Bellamy, “International Law and the War in Iraq”, Melbourne Journal of International Law, Vol. 4, No. 2,
(2003), pp. 497-520, at pp.502-504
80
Ibid., p.513
81
Ibid., p.519 (or generally, for a detailed discussion on the matter); The Guardian.Ten Days to War, 8 March 2008
(found at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/08/iraq.unitednations accessed 9 March 2014 at 3.16am)
82
Arrest Warrant Case, para 13-15
outside official capacity especially when committing serious crimes.83 However, the ICJ
ruled there is no basis in customary international law to support Belgium’s claim.84Some
judges in this case dissented in support of Belgium’s argument,85others saw the arrest
warrant ceasing to be illegal when the Congo Foreign Minister ceases to hold office.86
Reciprocity does seem to be a simple effective way of enforcement, however
there can still be problems that rise in it. The aforementioned problem of different
interpretation could complicate the situation. The analysis on belligerent reprisals
in the subsection Pushing Compliance by Reciprocity can serve as an example of
enforcement through reciprocity that is very potential to go sour. It has been shown
how there can be differences of understanding in the extent of possible legal reprisals,
even involving possibilities of civilians being targets of reprisals. There is no need
to repeat the analysis. It is not hard to imagine how the uncertainty of the law in this
particular area can potentially increase losses from war.
Further, the reality of world politics also makes things harder. While the ideal
situation of reciprocity can occur in a world where all states are equal in position
and strength, the truth is that some states are weak and others are strong.87 This
affects the capability of states both in conducting itself in the international arena. An
example to this would be the Germany invasion to Poland in 1939. Theoretically,
Poland could reciprocate the invasions by Germany (and later joined by Soviet) and
exercise their self-defence rights, but Poland was certainly no match for both mili-
tary giants even individually.88
Another case of failure of reciprocity would be when exercising enforcement
would bring more costs to the injure state rather than that of the violator state. An
example of this would be the Beef Hormones case in the WTO where the European
Community (EC, now the European Union) banned USA beef containing artificial
beef hormones.89 When the EC did not complywith the ruling, the DSB authorized
the USA to impose countermeasures to EC.90
83
Ibid., para.49-50, 56
84
Ibid., para.58
85
See Ibid., Dissenting Opinion of Judge Al-Khasawneh and Judge ad hoc Van den Wyngaert
86
See Ibid., Joint Separate Opinion of Judges Higgins, Kooijmans and Buergenthal
87
Alain Pellet, “The Normative Dilemma: Will and Consent in International Law Making”, Australian Yearbook
of International Law, Vol. 12, (1992), pp.22-53, at pp.42-43
88
Daniel Paliwoda, “Review of The Eagle Unbowed: Poland and the Poles in the Second World War”, Military
Review, Vol. 93, No. 2, (2013), pp.100-106, at p.100
89
Case No. WT/DS26/AB/R – WT/DS48/AB/R, 16 January 1998
90
Note 21, p. 794
Similarly, the Banana Case at the WTO responded to a situation where the EC
set an import quota on Bananas. In this case, the DSB declared that such action by
the EC was in breach of the WTO principles.91 Further, after the EC decided not to
comply, the DSB authorized the injured states (USA and a number of Latin American
states) to retaliate by imposing sanctions to the EC.The USA consumers took the hit
by loss of choice and higher prices for substitute products resulting in an overall
efficiency loss, while Ecuador chose to not use retaliation at all.92 These cases show
how retaliation is sometimes not a good way of enforcing, since it may also hurt the
state that is enforcing.
Enforcement by the International Community
The previous section has explained an alternative view on compliance towards

international law, other than ‘sense of obligation’, which is the natural enforcement
by other states in international relations. It can be in form of reciprocity by the affected
state, as well as by a third state. It has been briefly mentioned how reciprocity, in a
multi-state context, can multiply on a massive scale into a general behaviour of
state. And in that context as well, we have what we call an “international community”.
We have seen how individual states have represented this international community
in enforcing international obligations. This section will explore how states collectively
act as international community in enforcing international law.
Pressureby the International Community
It has been mentioned as well in the previous section, how the form of enforcement
in this context is in form of denial of certain benefits of social cooperation, where
states have found that compliance will generally help them enjoy such benefits.
A first aspect to this would be the phenomena of soft law. Traditionally, soft
laws are non-binding.93 However, they are generally complied with. An example to
this would be GA resolutions.
There is a reason why this essay did not include the GA (or UN bodies other
than the SC) as an enforcement body in the section of Enforcement by “Authorities”,
91
Ibid
92
Ibid, p.814-815
93
Bryan A. Gardner (ed.), Blacks Law Dictionary (9th ed.), St. Paul, MN: West, 2009, p.1519; and see also Note 38
at p.213
which is because the GA was not meant to be an enforcement body. Resolutions

passed by the GAare actually not formally binding (See Chapter IV of the UN Charter,
showing how the GA can only ‘recommend’). However, the GA has de facto been a
forum of enforcement due to the impact of the collectivity of states behind it. They
have regulated many things that have then been followed internationally as they
can only pass when supported by a majority of GA members (i.e. almost the entire
world). A testimony to that would be GA resolutions on state control towards natu-
ral resources Resolution No. 3281 (A/RES/29/3281), No. 3201 (A/RES/S-6/3201),
No. 3171 (A/RES/3171), and No. 1803 (A/RES/1803), which is actually followed.94
What the GA example above wishes to display is that then, there will be pressure
towards and by each other to actually follow these resolutions, as they
reflectopiniojurisand later generate state practice in forming customary laws.95 This
pressure acts as enforcement for each other’s compliance just like any other social
cooperation, as explained in the beginning of the previous section.
The UNcan also become a more explicit pressureforum by the
internationalcommunity.An example to this would be pressure towards the USA in
the AIDS patents problem. The USA tried to file against a complaint against Brazil
to the WTO due to an alleged breach of the TRIPS (Agreement on Trade Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights),despite such alleged breach was done by
Brazil to combat an AIDS epidemic.96 However, international pressure came on to
the USA especially through the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Resolution
No. 2001/33, declaring that the right to access AIDS medicine in situation of
epidemic is a human right.97 The pressure towards the USA was so high that on the
first day of the UN GA Special Session on AIDS (which also adopted the CHR
Resolution’s content in the Joint Declaration)they had to send a letter to Brazil to set
the problem aside, and then also dropped the complaint at the WTO.98
It is elusive to assume that the above is a case of ‘enforcement to international law
compliance’. It may be argued that if the right to the highest attainable standard of health99
94
Gregory J. Kerwin, “The Role of United Nations General Assembly Resolutions in Determining Principles
of International Law in United States Courts”, Duke Law Journal, Vol. 32, No. 4 (1983), pp.876-899, at p. 883
95
Note 44, p. 77
96
Andreas Fischer-Lescano and Gunther Teubner, “Regime-Collisions: the Vain Search for Legal Unity in the
Fragmentation of Global Law”, Michigan Journal of Internatonal Law, Vol.25 (2004), pp. 999-1046, at pp. 1024-1025
97
See also: Ibid., 1028
98
Ibid.
99
Article 12, International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966)
is to (according to the belief of most states) include the access towards medicine in
situation of epidemic, which also includes setting aside patents, this international
pressure is a move to safeguard such rights. Or even if the argument is not accepted,
at least it is an evidence of international pressure that can direct state behaviour.
Pressure does not have to be from the entire international community, as it can
be in form of only a few states. An example to this would be the enforcement of the
Land and Maritime Boundary Case.100 Nigeria decided that it could ‘cherry-pick’, declaring
to follow only the parts they considered fair or favourable and rejected those deemed
unacceptable.101 It was the USA, France, and the UK who pressured Nigeria to comply
with the judgment.102 The UN did have a role in this situation, but they played the
‘good cop’ instead of pressurizing, to help Cameroon and Nigeria negotiate further
to resolve the matter peacefully.103
International pressure could be manifested further in form of economic sanc-
tions. It is obvious that the more states that apply sanctions, the more effective it
will be. When Libya failed to cooperate in the investigation of Lockerbie incidents
demanded by SC Resolution 731 and 748 (both in 1992), the SC resorted to economic
sanctions and travel bans towards Libya through SC Resolution 883 (1993). This is
an example of enforcement by the SC, but seeing how the sanction was carried out it
is also an example of enforcement by the international community. SC Resolution
883 (1993) imposed obligation to do sanctions to the all states.104 Due to this
international sanction, Libya decided to cooperate.105
Sanctions need not to be committed by the international community through the UN.
An example to that would be the sanctions against Myanmar due to the reign of the Junta
military who were violating human rights by oppressingtheir own people. These various
forms of sanctions were applied by the EU, USA, Canada, Japan,106 and Australia.107After
100
Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v. Nigeria: Equatorial Guineu intervening),
Judgment, 1. C. J. Reports 2002, p. 303
101
Aloysius P. Llamzon, “Jurisdiction and Compliance in Recent Decisions of the International Court of
Justice”, European Journal of International Law, Vol. 18 No.5, (2008), pp.815-852, at p.836
102
Ibid., pp.836-837
103
Ibid., p.837
104
See particularly Operative Clauses 3 and 6
105
Note 1, p. 312
106
ALTSEAN Burma.Ready, Aim, Sanction.Special Report November 2003 (found at http://www.altsean.org/
Docs/PDF%20Format/Special%20Reports/Ready%20Aim%20Sanction.pdf accessed at 10 March 2014 at 11.51pm)
107
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Official Website.Burma Country Brief
(found at http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/burma/burma_brief.html accessed at 10 March 2014 at 11.53pm)
significant progress in Burma (e.g. proper elections, democratic regime), some of

these sanctions were lifted.108
Shortcomings of Enforcement by the International Community
The weakness of international pressure lies in the basic construction of the system.
As previously mentioned, states will only do what is best in their interest, and
sometimes obeying rules are not in their best interest. The idea of enforcement in
any case is to construct the situation in such a way that it is no longer in the state’s
best interest to break the rules.109
However, not all members of the international community can actually give
any significant effect to actually pressure the particular state. An example to that
would be the Land and Maritime Boundary Case. Surely, if very small states like
Vanuatuapply the most stringent sanction, it is hard to imagine that there will be
any actual effects.This is perhaps why it had to be the UK, France, and the USA that
took part in the pressures. The more serious effect, though, would be in the fact that
the attempts of an overwhelming majority can be thwarted by a very small minority
(in quantity).
The situation where that could happen is when the law is violated by a very
powerful state, or an ally to that very powerful state. It has been shown in the previous
subsection how the USA can succumb to international pressure at times, but in the
section of Enforcement by “Authorities” we have seen how the USA still refused to
comply with the Nicaragua Case judgement despite a GA Resolution passed against
them. Another example is how China could get away with all the human rights
abuses that it has done (e.g. the Tiananmen massacre), not only because it has veto
rights in the SC, but also because they are such a big international superpower so
that they could just ignore the pressure, or claiming to take ‘commitments’ but without
any concrete results.110
108
Wall Street Journal.Sanctions Lifted Against Myanmar, 22 April 2013 (found at http://online.wsj.com/news/
articles/SB10001424127887323735604578438632149787290 accessed at 11 March 2014 at 00.10am)
109
Note 41, p.28-29
110
Sonia Cardenas, “Norm Collision: Explaining the Effects of International Human Rights Pressure on State
Behavior”, International Studies Review, Vol.6, No.2 (2004), pp. 213-231, at p.226
Conclusion
This essay has displayed how enforcement exists in international law. Such
enforcement comes in two ways: through “authority” regimes formed through treaties,
such as the WTO and the UN, or without “authority” regimes, such as enforcement by
individual states or the international community as a whole.
However, it is also found that each of these means of enforcements has their
shortcomings which may hinder their effectiveness. Enforcement by “authority” regimes
may rely on support of the international community and, depending on the
construction of that “authority” (e.g. veto rights, etc), certain individual states as
well. On the other hand, enforcement by unilateral actions by individual states also
has its weaknesses. Enforcement by individual states can be very highly influenced
by that state’s own (unlawful) interest, can be thwarted due to different legal
interpretations by the “authority” regime or international community, and only
works depending on the strength of that particular state. The international community,
when acting as a whole, may seem to be very strong in enforcing international law.
However, due to either the construction of the “authority” regimes or the political
power of that particular individual state, enforcements by the international community
can be thwarted too.
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CAN INTERNATIONAL LAW BE ENFORCED TOWARDS ITS SUBJECTS WITHIN

Article · April 2014

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Can International Law be Enforced Towards its Subjects

Fajri Matahati Muhammadin

Key words : Enforcement, sanction, compliance

Kata kunci: Penegakan, sanksi, kepatuhan

This research focuses on the following questions: is international law, despite

This research is a normative research, conducted by observing the sources of

Discussion and Result

Austin’s view on international law is highly dependent on the historical setting

WTO and the DSB

The WTO is an organization built to face the challenges of globalization by

principles that should be applied in international trade, i.e.:17 1) Non-Discrimination:

Shortcomings of the “authority enforcement”

Enforcement without Authorities

Hart counters Austin’s submission on the necessity of a sovereign in law

Retaliation of the Injured State through Reciprocity

A general rule on reciprocity to enforce international law is the rule on

in history of warfare, combatants have some general understanding that there is a

Unilateral Actions by Third Parties

Shortcomings of Actions by Individual States

Enforcement by the International Community

The previous section has explained an alternative view on compliance towards

Pressureby the International Community

which is because the GA was not meant to be an enforcement body. Resolutions

significant progress in Burma (e.g. proper elections, democratic regime), some of

Shortcomings of Enforcement by the International Community

Cardenas, Sonia, “Norm Collision: Explaining the Effects of International Human

Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

UN Security Council Resolution No. 665 (1990)

Resolutions adopted by the GA at its 41st Session (found at http://www.un.org/

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