International Law for Humankind (Mague Academy of International Law)

748 Pages·2010·4.98 MB·English

by  Antnio Augusto Canado Trindade

International Law for Humankind
THE HAGUE ACADEMY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW MONOGRAPHS
Volume 6

The titles in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
THE HAGUE ACADEMY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
International Law for
Humankind
Towards a New Jus Gentium
by
Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade

MARTINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS
LEIDEN • BOSTON
Printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Trindade, Antônio Augusto Cançado, 1947-
International law for humankind : towards a new jus gentium / by Antonio Augusto Can-
cado Trindade.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18428-2 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. International law. 2. Natural law. I.
Title.
KZ3410.T78 2010
341--dc22
2010021678
isbn: 978 9004 18428 2

© 2010 Th e Hague Academy of International Law.
Published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, an imprint of Koninklijke Brill nv.
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Table of Contents
Glossary of Abbreviations xvii
Introduction: Preliminary Considerations 1
Part I Prolegomena 7
Chapter I The Evolution towards a New Jus Gentium: The
International Law for Humankind 9
I. Th e Historical Emergence of Jus Gentium 9
II. Th e Legacy of the Evolving Jus Gentium: Recta Ratio and the Pursuit
of the Common Good 11
III. Th e Fragmentation of Jus Gentium into Jus inter Gentes 14
IV. Th e Fallacy of Voluntarist Positivism 16
V. International Law-Making and the Reconstruction of Jus Gentium 20
VI. International Law, Pluralism and Universalism 22
VII. Th e Identifi cation of the Basic Feature of the New Jus Gentium 24
VIII. Th e Universalist Conception of International Law 27
Chapter II Time and Law Revisited: International Law and the
Temporal D imension 31
I. Introduction 31
II. Time and Law: Some Precisions and Lessons 31
III. Th e Incidence of the Temporal Dimension in International Law 34
IV. Time and International Law in Face of New Needs of Protection 36
V. Th e Presence of the Preventive Dimension in Domains of Protection 39
VI. Th e Expansion of Provisional Measures of Protection 41
VII. Th e Myopia of Political “Realism” 47
VIII. Concluding Observations 50
vi Table of Contents
Part II Foundations of International Law 53
Chapter III Foundations of International Law: The Role and
Importance of Its Basic Principles 55
I. Introduction 55
II. Th e Position and Role of the General Principles of Law 56
III. Th e Fundamental Principles as Substratum of the Legal Order Itself 59
IV. Th e Acknowledgement of General Principles of Law by the Statute
of the Hague Court (PCIJ and ICJ) 62
1. General Principles of Law and the Quest for Justice 62
2. Principles of International Law as Pillars of the International
Legal System 63
V. Th e 1970 U.N. Declaration on Principles of International Law
concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States Revisited 65
1. General Considerations in Historical Perspective 65
2. Th e Formulation of the Principles of International Law 68
3. Th e 1970 Declaration of Principles as a Contribution to the
Identifi cation of the Opinio Juris Communis 74
VI. Concluding Observations 77
1. Th e Sustained Validity of the Principles of International Law 77
2. Th e Projection in Time of the Evolving Principle of Self-
Determination of Peoples 81
3. Principles of International Law, the Quest for Justice and the
Universality of International Law 84
Chapter IV The Primacy of International Law over Force 87
I. Introduction 87
II. Th e Crystallization and Continuing Validity of the Principle of Non-
Use of Force 87
III. Th e Primacy of Law over Force as a Cornerstone of Contemporary
International Law 93
IV. Th e Emerging R ight to Humanitarian Assistance 97
V. Th e Decivilizing Eff ects of Unwarranted Use of Force 101
VI. Final Observations: Th e Primacy of Law over Force as an Imperative
of Jus Cogens 106
Part III Formation of International Law 111
Chapter V Contemporary International Law-making: A Reassessment
of the Theory of Formal “Sources” of International Law 113
I. Introduction 113
II. General Considerations on the Formal “Sources” of International
Law 114
III. Th e Formal “Sources” Enumerated in Article 38 of the ICJ Statute 116
1. International Custom 116
Table of Contents vii
2. Treaties 119
3. General Principles of Law 121
4. Judicial and Arbitral Decisions 123
5. Doctrine 125
6. Equity 127
IV. Th e Formal “Sources” Not Enumerated in Article 38 of the ICJ
Statute 128
1. Unilateral Juridical Acts of States 128
2. Resolutions of International Organizations 129
V. Th e Process of Formation of Contemporary International Law: From
Consent to Consensus 132
VI. Opinio Juris beyond Custom: Its Wide Scope and Role in the
Formation of Contemporary International Law 134
Chapter VI The Material Source of International Law:
Manifestations of the Universal Juridical Conscience 139
I. Introduction: Insuffi ciencies of the Formal “Sources” and the
Relevance of the Material “Source” of International Law 139
II. Human Conscience, Recta Ratio, and the Universality of
International Law 141
III. Th e Material Source of International Law Beyond State Legal
Positivism 145
IV. Invocation and Assertion of Juridical Conscience in International
Treaties 147
V. Universal Juridical Conscience: Th e Historical Signifi cance of the
Martens Clause 150
VI. Invocation of Juridical Conscience in Judicial Proceedings and
International Case-Law 152
VII. Invocation and Assertion of Juridical Conscience in International
Legal Doctrine 153
VIII. Final Observations: Th e Achievements of International Law and the
Universal Juridical C onscience 156
Part IV Subjects of International Law 163
Chapter VII States as Subjects of International Law and the Expansion
of International Legal Personality 165
I. Introduction: International Legal Personality Expanded 165
II. Statehood and Recognition 165
III. Rights and Duties of States 167
IV. States and the Expansion of International Law 170
V. Th e Erosion of the Domestic Jurisdiction of States 172
VI. Final Observations: States and the New Horizons of International
Legal Personality 177
viii Table of Contents
Chapter VIII International Organizations as Subjects of
International Law 181
I. Introduction: International Organizations and the Modifi cation of
the Structure of the International Legal Order 181
II. International Organizations and the Ideal of the Realization of
Justice 182
III. International Organizations and the Expansion of International
Legal Personality and Responsibility 185
IV. Th e Expansion of International Law Itself by the Law of
International Organizations 190
1. International Organizations and the Ascertainment of
Opinio Juris 191
2. International Organizations and Treaty-Making Capacity 193
3. Composition of International Organizations: Evolving Issues 194
4. Th e Growth of Multilateralism and International Cooperation 196
V. Th e Projected Reforms of the International Organizations,
Particularly of the United Nations 200
VI. Concluding Observations: Th e Contribution of International
Organizations to the Progressive Development of International Law 206
1. International Organizations: Contents and Legal Eff ects of
Resolutions 206
2. Responses to New Needs and Aspirations of the International
Community 208
Chapter IX The Legal Personality of the Individual as Subject of
International Law 213
I. Introduction 213
II. Th e Individual as Subject of the Emerging Law of Nations 213
III. Th e Attempted Exclusion of the Individual from the International
Legal Order 217
IV. Th e Individual’s Presence and Participation in the International
Legal Order 220
V. Th e Rescue of the Individual as Subject of International Law 224
VI. Th e Legal Personality of the Individual as a Response to a Need of
the International Community 232
VII. Th e Attribution of Duties to the Individual Directly by
International Law 234
VIII. Personality and Capacity: Th e Individual’s Access to Justice at
International Level 236
IX. Final Observations: Th e Historical Signifi cance of the International
Subjectivity of the Individual 239
Table of Contents ix
Chapter X The Legal Capacity of the Individual as Subject of
International Law 243
I. Introduction 243
II. Th e International Legal Capacity of the Individual: Legal
Foundations, Nature and Scope 243
1. Legal Foundations of the Access of the Human Being to
International Tribunals 243
2. Juridical Nature and Scope of the Right of International
Individual Petition 247
III. Th e Emancipation of the Individual from His Own State 251
IV. Th e Locus Standi of Individuals in the Procedures before
International Human Rights Tribunals 255
1. Developments in the European System of Protection 256
2. Developments in the Inter-American System of Protection 261
V. Th e Individual Right of Direct Access (Jus Standi) to International
Human Rights Tribunals 264
1. Antecedents of Domestic Law: Th e Subjective Right, and the
Direct Access (Jus Standi) to National Tribunals 266
2. Developments in International Law: Th e Direct Access (Jus
Standi) to International Human Rights Tribunals 267
VI. Th e Right of Access Lato Sensu of Individuals to International
Justice 268
VII. Concluding Observations 271
Chapter XI Humankind as a Subject of International Law 275
I. Th e Perception and Awareness of Common and Superior Interests
of Humankind as Such 275
II. Th e Fundamental Principle of Humanity 276
III. Humankind and Considerations of Humanity: A Conceptual Precision 280
IV. Th e Emergence of Humankind as a Subject of International Law 281
V. Legal Consequences of the Acknowledgement of Humankind as
Subject of Internatio nal Law 286
1. Th e Relevance of the Human Rights Framework 286
2. Th e Question of the Capacity to Act and Legal Representation 286
Part V Construction of the International Law for Humankind 289
Chapter XII Conceptual Constructions: Jus Cogens and Obligations
Erga Omnes 291
I. Introduction: Fundamental Values of the International Community 291
II. International Jus Cogens (Peremptory Norms of General
International Law) 292
1. Emergence and Content of Jus Cogens 292
2. Evolving Scope of Jus Cogens 295
3. Th e Gradual Expansion of the Material Content of Jus Cogens 299
x Table of Contents
4. Jus Cogens as a Pillar of the New Jus Gentium, the International
Law for Humankind 310
III. Obligations Erga Omnes of Protection 312
1. Emergence and Scope of the Obligations 312
2. Horizontal and Vertical Dimensions of the Obligations 317
IV. Obligations Erga Omnes and the Emergence of Actio Popularis 320
V. Concluding Observations 322
Chapter XIII Conceptual Constructions: Common Heritage of Mankind
and Common Concern of Mankind 327
I. Introduction 327
II. Th e Content and Signifi cance of the Concept of Common Heritage
of Mankind 327
1. In the Domain of the International Law of Outer Space 329
2. In the Domain of the Law of the Sea 331
3. In the Domain of the International Law of Bioethics 336
4. In the Domain of International Environmental Law 339
III. Th e Content and Signifi cance of the Concept of Common Concern
of Mankind 344
1. Th e Emergence of the New Concept 344
2. Th e Contribution of the New Concept 346
3. Th e Co-existence between Common Heritage and Common
Concern of Mankind, and Th eir Legacy to International Law 348
IV. Concluding Observations 350
Chapter XIV Conceptual Constructions: The Right to Peace and the
Right to Development 353
I. Th e Formulation of the Right to Peace in International Law 353
1. Elements of the Right to Peace in International Law 353
2. Recent Developments in the Formulation of the Right to Peace 355
II. Th e Formulation of the Right to Development in International Law 357
1. Elements of the Right to Development in International Law 357
2. Crystallization of the Right to Development as a Human Right 360
3. Th e Conceptual Construction of Human Development 361
4. Lessons from the Crystallization of the Right to Development 364
Chapter XV Conceptual Constructions: Responsibility for International
Crimes and Universal Jurisdiction 367
I. Introduction 367
II. Th e International Responsibility of the State and of the Individual:
Recent Developments 367
III. State Responsibility, the Criminalization of Grave Violations of
Human Rights and the Realization of Justice 369
IV. Complementarity between the International Responsibility of States