SPECIAL ISSUES

IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
Territoriality principle

The state may exercise jurisdiction only

within its territory, except over–

[Link] offenses
[Link] prejudicial to the national security or
vital interest of the State
Universal crimes
Nationality principle

The State has jurisdiction over its nationals

anywhere in the world, based on the theory
that a national is entitled to the protection f
the State wherever he may be, and thus, is
bound by duty of obedience and allegiance,
unless he is prepared to renounce his
nationality
Protective principle

State has jurisdiction over acts

committed abroad (by nationals or
foreigners) which are prejudicial to its
national security or vital interests
Universality principle

State has jurisdiction over offenses considered as

universal crimes regardless of where committed and
who committed them (Id).

NOTE: Universal crimes are those which threaten the

international community as a whole are considered
criminal offenses in all countries, i.e piracy jure
gentium, genocide, white slave trade, hi-jacking,
terrorism, war crimes
(Attorney General v. Eichmann).
Passive personality principle

State exercises jurisdiction over crimes against its own nationals even if
committed outside its territory. This principle may be resorted to if the
others are not applicable.

Conflicts of jurisdiction

International leaves a fair measure of jurisdictional discretion to States

which can assert jurisdiction if it can be justified by a rule of
international law which is generally permissive. Although jurisdiction
is discussed according to traditional principles, it may be that a
general principle has now emerged that a State may exercise
jurisdiction if there is a sufficiently close connection between the
subject matter and the State to override the interest of a competing
State (Higgins, Problems and Process, Oxford, 1994, p. 65-69)
Treatment of aliens

Flowing from its right to existence and as an attribute of

sovereignty, no State is under obligation to admit aliens.
The State can determine in what cases and under what
conditions it may admit aliens
This right includes the power to regulate the entry and stay
of aliens and the State has the right to expel aliens from its
territory through deportation and reconduction
 Expulsion/ Reconduction
Deportation

May be predicated on the The forcible conveying of

ground that the stay of the alien aliens back to their home
constitutes a menace to the State. This, destitute aliens,
security of the State of that his vagabonds, aliens without
entry was illegal, or that documents, alien criminals, and
permission to stay has expired, the like, may be arrested and
or that he has violated any reconducted to the frontier
limitation or condition without any formalities. And
prescribed for his admission and the home State of such aliens
continued stay. has the obligation to receive
them
Local laws may grant the alien certain rights
and privileges based on :

Reciprocity;
Most-favored-nation treatment;
National treatment (i.e. equality between
nationals and aliens in certain matters such as in
entitlement to due process).
The State may be made liable for injuries and damages
sustained by the alien while in the territory of the State if
:
The act or omission constitutes international
delinquency.
The acts or omission is directly imputable to the
state:

Acts of Government Officials:

 High Administrative Official Minor subordinate official

Acts, if within the scope of authority, There must be a denial of justice or

are also acts of State which give rise to something which indicates complicity
direct state liability. of the State in, or condonation of, the
original wrongful act, such as an
Acts, if done beyond the scope of omission to take disciplinary action
authority, are likened to an act of a against the wrongdoer.
private individual.
 Acts of private individuals. For the State to be
responsible, it must be shown that there was
actual or tacit complicity of the government in
the act, before or after it, either directly by
ratifying or approving it, or in the patent or
manifest negligence in taking measures to
prevent injury, investigate the case, punish the
guilty, or enable the victim to pursue his civil
remedies against the offender. The claimant has
the burden of proving such negligence.

Injury to the claimant State indirectly because of

damage to its national.
Enforcement of alien’s claim:

Exhaustion of local remedies

Exception:

No remedies to exhaust (i.e. laws are intrinsically

defective, courts are corrupt, no adequate
machinery for the administration of justice,
international delinquency results from an “act of
State”).
Calvo clause
– stipulation by which an alien waives or restricts his right to
appeal to his own state in connection with any claim arising from
the contract and agrees to limit himself to the remedies available
under the laws of the local state.

NOTE: This cannot be interpreted to deprive the alien’s state of

the right to protect or vindicate his interest in case they are
injured in another state, as such waiver can legally be made not
by the alien but his own state a (Ibid, citing US [North American
Dredging Co.) v. Mexico, General Claims Comission, 1926)
Resort to diplomatic protection
Extradition
The surrender of a person by one state to another state
where he is wanted for prosecution or, if already convicted,
for punishment (Ibid, p. 695).

Basis of extradition: Treaty. In the absence of a treaty, local

state may grant asylum to the fugitive; or , if surrender is
made, the same is merely a gesture of comity (Id).
Fundamental principles

Based on consent (expressed in treaty or manifested as an act of

goodwill);

Principle of Specialty (A fugitive who is extradited may be tried only for

the crime specified in the request for extradition and included in the list
of offenses in the extradition treaty).

Any person may be extradited (whether national of the requesting state,

of the state of refuge, has the right to object to a violation of this
principle).

Political and religious offenders are generally not subject to extradition.

NOTE: Attentat clause – the murder of a head of state or any member of family
is not to be regarded as political offense. Neither is genocide.

In the absence of special agreement, the offense must have been committed
within the territory or against the interest of the demanding State.
The act for which the extradition is ought to must be punishable in both the
requesting and requested states. (Rule of Double Criminality)

NOTE: In “Non-List” types of extradition treaties, offenses punishable under the

laws of both states by imprisonment of one year or more are included among the
extraditable offenses.
Extradition Is a Major Instrument for the Suppression of Crime.
Extradition treaties are entered into for the purpose of suppressing crime
by facilitating the arrest and the custodial transfer of a fugitive from one
state to the other.

The Requesting State Will Accord Due Process to the Accused. An

extradition treaty presupposes that both parties thereto have examined,
and that both accept and trust, each other’s legal system and judicial
process; duly authorized representative’s signature on an extradition
treaty signifies confidence in the capacity and the willingness of the
other state to protect the basic rights of the person sought to be
extradited.
The Proceedings Are Sui Generis. It is not a criminal proceeding which will call
into operation all the rights of an accused as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. To
begin with, the process of extradition does not involve the determination of the
guilt or innocence of an accused. His guilt
Compliance Shall Be in Good Faith. Executive branch of government voluntarily
entered into the Extradition Treaty, and legislative branch ratified it. Hence, the
Treaty carries the presumption that its implementation will serve the national
interest. Verily, the State is bound by pacta sunt servanda to comply in good
faith with our obligations under the Treaty.
There Is an Underlying Risk of Flight. Persons to be extradited are presumed to
be flight risks. This prima facie presumption finds reinforcement in the
experience of the executive branch: nothing short of confinement can ensure
that the accused will not flee the jurisdiction of the requested state in order to
thwart their extradition to the requesting state.
Procedure

i Extradition REQUEST accompanied by necessary papers relative to: (a) identity of the wanted person;
(b) crime alleged to have been committed or of which he has already been convicted.

Submission to Diplomatic channels of state of refuge

State of refuge will conduct a Judicial Investigation to: (a) ascertain that the crime is covered by
extradition treaty; (b) prima facie case against the fugtive according to its own laws.

Issuance of Warrant of Surrender. If the conditions stated above are satisfied, a warrant of surrender
shall be drawn.

Surrender of the Fugitive and delivery to the requesting state.

Madrid Protocol and the Paris Convention
for the Protection of Industrial Property

The protection of industrial property has as its object patents,

utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks,
trade names, indications of source or appellations of origin,
and the repression of unfair competition (Art. 1 [1], Paris
Convention).
International environmental law

Principle 21 of the Stockholm Declaration

States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United

Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign
right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own
environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that
activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause
damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond
the limits of national jurisdiction (Principle, 21, Stockholm
Declaration on the Human Environment).
International economic law

International economic law, broadly conceived, is a

field of international law that encompasses both the
conduct of sovereign states in international
economic relations, and the conduct of private
parties involved in cross-border economic and
business transactions.
(International Economic Law, Cornell Law School, Legal
Information Institute (Wex) at [Link]
wex/international_economic_law, last retrieved April 30, 2014)
The basis of international economic law International
economic law is based on the traditional principles of
international law such as:

pacta sunt servanda

freedom
sovereign equality
reciprocity
economic sovereignty.
It is also based on modern and evolving principles such as:

the duty to co-operate

permanent sovereignty over natural resources
preferential treatment for developing countries in general
and the least-developed countries in particular.