An Introduction to International Law for Afghanistan

243 Pages·2015·14.44 MB·English

A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L A W
F O R A F G H A N I S T A N
An Introduction to

International Law

for Afghanistan

Afghanistan Legal Education Project (ALEP)
at Stanford Law School
http://alep.stanford.edu
[email protected]

Stanford Law School
Crown Quadrangle
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
www.law.stanford.edu

© Afghanistan Legal Education Project at Stanford Law School
© Afghanistan Legal Education Project at Stanford Law School
ALEP – STANFORD LAW SCHOOL

Authors
Morgan Galland (Student Director, 2010-11)
Evan Berquist
Stephanie Gosnell Handler
Nicholas Reed
Michael Sulmeyer

Editors
Ingrid Price (Student Co-Director, 2012-13)
Julian Simcock (Student Co-Director, 2012-13)
Tres Thompson (Student Director, 2014-15)
Mansi Kothari
Catherine Baylin
Nicholas Reed

Faculty Director
Erik Jensen

Contributing Faculty Editor
Allen Weiner

Rule of Law Program Executive Director
Megan Karsh

Program Advisor
Rolando Garcia Miron

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF AFGHANISTAN

Contributing Editors
Wadir Wadeer Safi
Yama Keshawerz

Chair of the Department of Law
Taylor Strickling, 2012-13
Hadley Rose, 2013-14
Mehdi Hakimi, 2014-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE...................................................................................................................................xiii!
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL LAW...........................................1!
I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................1!
A. Sovereignty and Voluntary Compliance............................................................................2!
B. Origins of International Law..............................................................................................3!
C. Theories in International Law.............................................................................................4!
II. ROADMAP............................................................................................................................5!
III. CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................7!
OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.....................................................8!
GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................10!
CHAPTER 2: THE SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW.............................................11!
I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................11!
Where Does International Law Come From?...................................................................11!
II. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: ARTICLE 38(1) OF THE STATUTE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE.........................................................................12!
A. The Law of Treaties..........................................................................................................14!
Why Do We Have Treaties?.............................................................................................14!
What Is a Treaty?..............................................................................................................15!
Clarification: The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.........................................16!
Bringing a Treaty into Effect: Signing versus Ratifying..................................................16!
Bringing a Treaty into Effect: Reservations, Understandings, and Declarations.............17!
How Does a Treaty Work?...............................................................................................18!
B. Customary International Law...........................................................................................20!
State Practice: Uniform, Consistent, and General............................................................21!
Uniformity.........................................................................................................................21!
Consistency and Generality..............................................................................................22!
v
Opinio Juris et Necessitatis: Legally Necessary or Obligatory........................................23!
Evidence............................................................................................................................23!
Jus Cogens........................................................................................................................24!
C. General Principles of Law................................................................................................25!
D. Subsidiary Means: Judicial Decisions and the Teachings of Scholars.............................28!
Brief Overview of Select International Courts and Tribunals..........................................28!
III. MODERN SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW: INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS..............................................................................................................31!
III. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................34!
GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................36!
CHAPTER 3: THE NEXUS BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND
AFGHANISTAN’S DOMESTIC LAW....................................................................................38!
I. INTRODUCTION AND OPENING INQUIRIES................................................................38!
Separation of Powers........................................................................................................38!
II. THE TREATY-MAKING PROCESS IN AFGHANISTAN...............................................40!
Signature...........................................................................................................................40!
Ratification........................................................................................................................40!
III. ARE INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DOMESTIC LAW DISTINCT SYSTEMS?: THE
THEORIES OF MONISM AND DUALISM.......................................................................41!
The Theories of Monism and Dualism.............................................................................41!
IV. INCORPORATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAWS INTO DOMESTIC LAW IN
PRACTICE............................................................................................................................47!
International Law in Afghanistan’s Constitution..............................................................48!
Customary International Law and Other Sources of International Law Not Named in the
Constitution.......................................................................................................................52!
V. THE COMPATIBILITY OF DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAW PROVISIONS
...............................................................................................................................................53!
Who Has the Authority to Determine Compatibility?......................................................55!
VI. THE HIERARCHY OF SOURCES OF LAW IN AFGHANISTAN................................63!
vi
The UN Charter, International Treaties, International Conventions that Afghanistan has
Signed, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.................................................63!
Customary International Law...........................................................................................66!
VII. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS..........................................................................................66!
VIII. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................68!
GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................69!
CHAPTER 4: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW................................................70!
I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................70!
What Is International Human Rights Law?......................................................................70!
II. PRECURSORS TO HUMAN RIGHTS LAW....................................................................71!
III. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAW......................................73!
A. The UN Charter................................................................................................................73!
B. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights...................................................................74!
IV. CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW................................75!
A. International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).......................................75!
B. International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).................77!
C. Additional UN Human Rights Instruments......................................................................79!
D. Role of Customary International Law in Human Rights..................................................80!
V. ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW...............................82!
A. Enforcement of the UN Charter and Declaration of Human Rights................................82!
B. Enforcement of Human Rights Treaties...........................................................................83!
VI. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN.........................................85!
The Afghan Constitution...................................................................................................85!
VII. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................88!
GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................89!
CHAPTER 5: THE PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL
DISPUTES...................................................................................................................................90!
I. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................90!
vii
II. INFORMAL METHODS OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION..................91!
A. Negotiation, Mediation, Good Offices and Conciliation..................................................92!
Negotiation........................................................................................................................92!
Mediation, Good Offices and Conciliation.......................................................................95!
B. Arbitration.........................................................................................................................97!
Historical Development of Modern Arbitration...............................................................97!
Procedure, Awards and Enforceability.............................................................................99!
Advantages and Disadvantages of International Arbitration..........................................102!
C. Dispute Resolution at the WTO: Arbitration and Judicial Decision Making.................103!
The WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding................................................................105!
III. JUDICIAL MECHANISMS OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION...........................................108!
A. The International Court of Justice..................................................................................108!
Composition and Organization.......................................................................................108!
Jurisdiction in Contentious Cases...................................................................................109!
Advisory Opinions..........................................................................................................113!
B. Regional and Specialized Courts....................................................................................114!
IV. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................114!
GLOSSARY..............................................................................................................................115!
CHAPTER 6: USE OF FORCE..............................................................................................116!
I. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF FORCE.............................................................116!
A. Why is the Use of Force Important in International Law?............................................117!
B. Historical Background...................................................................................................118!
II. Jus ad Bellum: Law on the Use of Force...........................................................................121!
A. Jus ad Bellum and the Charter of the United Nations...................................................121!
B. Customary International Law........................................................................................128!
Necessity.........................................................................................................................128!
Proportionality................................................................................................................128!
viii
III. JUS IN BELLO – THE CONDUCT OF WARFARE......................................................130!
A. Hague Law: Restrictions on Methods of Warfare.........................................................131!
B. Geneva Law: Protections for Victims of Warfare.........................................................133!
The Power to Appoint Protecting Powers and Services of an Impartial Humanitarian
Body................................................................................................................................135!
Applicability: International versus Non-International Armed Conflict:.........................136!
C. Arms Control.................................................................................................................139!
III. THE USE OF FORCE AND THE LEGAL REGIME OF THE UNITED NATIONS....141!
A. The UN Security Council..............................................................................................141!
B. Chapter VII of the UN Charter......................................................................................149!
C. Humanitarian Interventions and Peacekeeping Operations...........................................151!
D. Provision for Regional Security Arrangements.............................................................153!
IV. TERRORISM AND THE USE OF FORCE...................................................................154!
A. What is Terrorism?........................................................................................................154!
B. International Efforts to Develop a More Robust International Legal Framework........155!
V. AFGHANISTAN AND THE USE OF FORCE SINCE 2001...........................................159!
A. Overview of the Use of Force in Afghanistan after 9/11..............................................159!
B. ISAF and the Role of NATO in Afghanistan................................................................161!
V. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................163!
GLOSSARY..............................................................................................................................169!
CHAPTER 7: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW.........................................................170!
I. INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................170!
What is International Criminal Law?..............................................................................170!
II. PART ONE: TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION.......................................................172!
A. Forms of Transnational Cooperation: Extradition..........................................................172!
B. Forms of Transnational Cooperation: Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties......................174!
C. Offenses Targeted for Transnational Cooperation: Terrorism.......................................175!
D. Offenses Targeted for Transnational Cooperation: Narcotics........................................181!
ix