The Invocation of Necessity in International Law
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Invocation of Necessity in International Law Examensarbete i folkrätt, 20 poäng Författare: Maria Agius Handledare: Iain Cameron VT 2006 Contents Table of Cases .............................................................................................................................................. iii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................... iv 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2 Necessity as a Defence under International Law ............................................................................... 11 2.1 Earlier Concepts of Necessity ................................................................................................... 11 2.2 The Modern Concept of Necessity ........................................................................................... 14 2.3 Distinction from Other Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness ........................................... 17 2.4 The Criteria of the Necessity Defence ...................................................................................... 19 2.4.1 Essential Interest .................................................................................................................. 19 2.4.2 Grave and Imminent Peril .................................................................................................... 22 2.4.3 Only Means to Safeguard Interest ........................................................................................ 26 2.4.4 Balance of Interests: Bilaterally, Multilaterally, and in Relation to the International Community as a Whole ................................................................................................ 28 2.5 Limits to the Invocation of Necessity ....................................................................................... 32 2.5.1 Peremptory Norms ............................................................................................................... 32 2.5.2 Non-Derogation Expressed in the Relevant Treaty ............................................................. 38 2.5.3 Contribution to the State of Necessity ................................................................................. 39 3 The Availability of the Plea of Necessity .......................................................................................... 41 4 The Effect of the Invocation of Necessity ......................................................................................... 46 5 Applications of the Necessity Doctrine to Use of Force .................................................................... 55 5.1 Necessity as an Alternative or Complement to Self-Defence .................................................. 55 5.2 Necessity in Relation to Humanitarian Interventions ............................................................... 60 5.3 Rescuing Nationals Abroad ...................................................................................................... 64 5.4 Combating International Crime: the Air Bridge Denial Program ............................................ 67 6 Necessity and the Rule of Law in International Law ......................................................................... 70 6.1 The Development of a Rule of Law in International Law ........................................................ 70 6.2 Upholding the Stability of Treaty Regimes: Shaping the Defences under the Law of State Responsibility ................................................................................................................................ 73 6.3 The Risks Connected with Application of the Necessity Plea: Will Fears be Realised? ................................................................................................................................................. 76 7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 82 8 References .......................................................................................................................................... 85 ii Table of Cases 1966 South West Africa ................................................................................................ 71 1971 South West Africa ................................................................................................ 31 Anglo-Portuguese Dispute of 1832 ......................................................................... 23, 79 Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, Ltd ............................................ 30, 33 Caroline .................................................................................... 13, 20, 23, 36, 42, 58, 60 Case concerning Legality of Use of Force ................................................................... 62 Chorzów Factory ............................................................................................................ 6 Company General of the Orinoco .......................................................................... 25, 26 Construction of a Wall ...................................................................................................... ........ 6, 7, 10, 15, 21, 28, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 40, 42, 51, 52, 53, 57, 58, 59, 60, 71, 78 Continental Shelf (Tunisia v. Libya) ............................................................................ 71 Corfu Channel ........................................................................................................ 12, 29 Dickson Car Wheel ....................................................................................................... 23 East Timor .................................................................................................................... 31 Faber ...................................................................................................................... 11, 27 Fisheries Jurisdiction ................................................................................................... 24 Fisheries Jurisdiction case (United Kingdom v. Iceland) ............................................ 20 French Company of Venezuela Railroads .................................................................... 20 Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project ......................................................................... 6, 10, 15, .... 16, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 39, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 51, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 81, 90 Interpretation of Peace Treaties ................................................................................... 41 Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons ................................................ 31, 71 M/V Saiga No. 2 ...................................................................................................... 20, 27 Mara’abe v. The Prime Minister of Israel .................................................................... 28 Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua ................................... 35 Naulilaa .......................................................................................................................... 7 Neptune ................................................................................................................... 24, 27 Oscar Chinn ...................................................................................................... 16, 28, 78 Pacific Fur Seals Arbitration ......................................................... 10, 15, 20, 23, 26, 48 Packet Chichester ......................................................................................................... 23 Payment of Various Serbian Loans Issued in France .................................................. 48 Properties of the Bulgarian minorities in Greece .................................................. 20, 51 Rainbow Warrior ...................................... 8, 9, 17, 18, 19, 41, 43, 44, 48, 49, 74, 78, 80 Russian Indemnity ................................................................................................... 13, 20 Société Commerciale de Belgique .............................................................. 17, 20, 46, 48 SpA Ferriera Valsabbia and others v. Commission of the European Communities .... 40 Spanish Zone of Morocco Claims ................................................................................... 6 Tehran Hostages ........................................................................................................... 66 Western Sahara ............................................................................................................. 31 Wimbledon .................................................................................................................... 23 iii Abbreviations Adv. Op. Advisory Opinion ARSIWA Articles on the Responsibility of State for Internation- ally Wrongful Acts cf. confer (compare) Cmnd. Command Paper (United Kingdom) CR Court Records of the ICJ Decl. Declaration Doc. Document e.g. exempli gratia (for example) ed. editor et seq. et sequens (and the following) GA General Assembly of the United Nations HCJ High Court of Justice (Israel) Hum. Human i.e. id est (that is) ibid. ibidem (at the same place) ICJ International Court of Justice ICJ Rep. International Court of Justice Reports ILC International Law Commission