Enforcing Obligations Erga Omnes in International Law

by Christian J. Tams

• ISBN13: 9780521856676
• ISBN10: 0521856671
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The concept of obligations erga omnes - obligations to the international community as a whole - has fascinated international lawyers for decades, yet its precise implications remain unclear. This book assesses how this concept affects the enforcement of international law. It shows that all States are entitled to invoke obligations erga omnes in proceedings before the International Court of Justice, and to take countermeasures in response to serious erga omnes breaches. In addition, it suggests ways of identifying obligations that qualify as erga omnes. In order to sustain these results, the book conducts a thorough examination of international practice and jurisprudence as well as the recent work of the UN International Law Commission in the field of State responsibility. By so doing, it demonstrates that the erga omnes concept is solidly grounded in modern international law, and clarifies one of the central aspects of the international regime of law enforcement.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xiii
Preface	xv
Notes on citation	xvii
Table of cases	xviii
List of abbreviations	xxviii
Introduction	1	(16)
Part I Background to the erga omnes concept	17	(80)
Clarifications	19	(29)
Countermeasures and ICJ proceedings	19	(6)
The notion of standing	25	(15)
Standing as a normative concept	28	(4)
Standing as a flexible concept	32	(4)
The diversity of rules governing standing	36	(4)
Interim conclusions	40	(1)
Standing to enforce individual legal positions	40	(6)
The basis of the distinction	41	(1)
Categories of individual legal positions	42	(1)
Bilateral legal rules and similar situations	42	(2)
Special injury	44	(2)
Concluding observations	46	(2)
Traditional approaches to standing	48	(49)
Restrictive tendencies	52	(17)
A structural analysis of multilateral obligations	53	(1)
Three categories of obligations	54	(4)
The legal regime	58	(5)
A restrictive interpretation of treaty provisions: the South West Africa case	63	(6)
Expansive tendencies	69	(25)
Treaty-based rules of standing	70	(1)
Unequivocal treaty clauses	71	(5)
Equivocal clauses broadly interpreted: the Wimbledon case	76	(4)
The position in the absence of special treaty regulations	80	(1)
Interdependent obligations	80	(1)
Status treaties	80	(1)
Background	81	(2)
Standing to react against breaches	83	(4)
The duty to comply with judgments of the International Court of Justice	87	(2)
Basic humanitarian standards	89	(5)
Concluding observations	94	(3)
Part II Legal issues raised by the erga omnes concept	97	(209)
Distinguishing types of erga omnes effects	99	(18)
Terminological imprecision	101	(2)
The traditional meaning of the term	103	(3)
`Other' erga omnes effects in the ICJ's jurisprudence	106	(9)
The traditional meaning	107	(3)
The territorial restriction of obligations	110	(2)
The descriptive function	112	(3)
Concluding observations	115	(2)
Identifying obligations erga omnes	117	(41)
The question of sources	120	(8)
The Court's jurisprudence	121	(2)
Further considerations	123	(5)
Distinguishing obligations erga omnes from other customary obligations	128	(28)
The structural approach	130	(1)
The strong version	131	(2)
The moderate version	133	(2)
Interim conclusion	135	(1)
The material approach	136	(1)
The point of reference	136	(2)
The required threshold of importance	138	(1)
Obligations erga omnes and norms of jus cogens	139	(2)
The merits of a comparative approach	141	(5)
Implications for the erga omnes concept	146	(5)
Interim conclusion	151	(1)
Beyond jus cogens: obligation erga omnes not deriving from peremptory norms	151	(1)
Dispositive obligations erga omnes?	152	(1)
Relevant factors	153	(3)
Concluding observations	156	(2)
Standing to institute ICJ proceedings	158	(40)
The Barcelona Traction dictum	162	(3)
Possible counter-arguments	165	(31)
Isolated pronouncements?	165	(2)
An obiter dictum lacking legal relevance?	167	(6)
The international community as the exclusive beneficiary?	173	(3)
Contradictions within the judgment?	176	(3)
Inconclusive jurisprudence since 1970?	179	(1)
The Nuclear Tests cases	180	(2)
The East Timor case	182	(1)
Obligations erga omnes and the indispensable third-party rule	183	(2)
The issue of standing	185	(2)
The Genocide case	187	(1)
The Nicaragua case	187	(3)
The Gabcikovo case	190	(2)
Summary	192	(1)
A restrictive, contextual interpretation?	193	(3)
Concluding observations	196	(2)
Standing to take countermeasures	198	(54)
The Court's jurisprudence	201	(6)
The Barcelona Traction case	202	(2)
The Namibia and Hostages cases	204	(1)
The Nicaragua case	205	(2)
Interim conclusions	207	(1)
International practice	207	(42)
Specific instances of state practice	208	(1)
Actual violations	209	(1)
Western countries -- Uganda (1971-1978)	210	(1)
European countries -- Liberia (1980)	211	(1)
G77 and socialist countries - colonial regimes (1970s-1990s)	211	(2)
Western countries -- Poland (1981)	213	(1)
United States -- Soviet Union (1981)	214	(1)
Western countries -- Argentina (1982)	215	(2)
Western countries -- Soviet Union (1983)	217	(1)
Western countries -- South Africa (1985-1986)	217	(2)
Various countries -- Iraq (1990)	219	(1)
European and Commonwealth countries -- Nigeria (1995)	220	(1)
African States -- Burundi (1996)	221	(2)
European countries -- Yugoslavia (1998)	223	(1)
Various countries - Zimbabwe (2002-2003)	224	(1)
Statements implying a right to take countermeasures	225	(1)
G7 declarations on aircraft hijacking (1978/1981)	225	(1)
Western countries - Iran (1979-1980)	226	(1)
Actual non-compliance justified differently	227	(1)
Netherlands-Surinam (1982)	227	(1)
European countries-Yugoslavia (1991)	228	(1)
An assessment	228	(2)
A preliminary evaluation	230	(1)
Counter-arguments examined	231	(1)
The relevance of the erga omnes concept	232	(2)
The selectivity of practice	234	(1)
The dominance of western practice	235	(2)
A lack of opinio juris	237	(3)
The requirement of collective action	240	(1)
Interim conclusion	241	(1)
Governments' comments on the ILC's work on State responsibility	241	(1)
Comments made during the first reading	242	(3)
Comments made during the second reading	245	(3)
Interim conclusions	248	(1)
Concluding observations	249	(3)
Erga omnes enforcement rights and competing enforcement mechanisms	252	(54)
Identifying areas of conflict	256	(7)
Overlapping legal rules	256	(2)
Different enforcement rights	258	(1)
Treaty-based systems of enforcement: a survey	259	(2)
Specific types of conflict	261	(2)
Addressing conflicts	263	(41)
Contracting out of decentralised enforcement by States	263	(1)
Direct recourse by individuals	263	(1)
Institutional enforcement	264	(4)
Summary	268	(1)
Contracting out of specific forms of decentralised enforcement	268	(1)
General considerations	268	(1)
The exclusivity thesis	269	(1)
Alleged support in international jurisprudence	269	(2)
Its rejection	271	(5)
Guidelines for the analysis of specific conflicts	276	(1)
Explicit conflict rules	276	(1)
Effectivity	277	(1)
Formal indications of effectivity	278	(1)
The character of the breach	278	(1)
Summary	279	(1)
Contracting out of ICJ proceedings	279	(1)
Non-exclusivity clauses	280	(2)
Implied non-exclusivity	282	(1)
Flexible exclusivity clauses	283	(3)
Interim conclusion	286	(1)
Contracting out of countermeasures	286	(2)
No inter-State procedures available	288	(1)
Inter-State procedures available	289	(1)
Non-judicial procedures	289	(2)
Judicial procedures	291	(8)
Interim conclusion	299	(1)
Special factors restricting treaty enforcement	300	(1)
Article 51 UNC	300	(2)
The effects of reservations	302	(2)
Concluding observations	304	(2)
Conclusion	306	(6)
Bibliography	312	(39)
Index	351