1. What is Jus Cogens?

Give an example
 Customary international law which has the status of a peremptory
(absolute, uncompromising, certain) norm of international law. A
peremptory norm is a norm accepted and recognized by the international
community of states as a rule, from which no derogation is permitted and
which can be modified only by a subsequent norm having the same
character.
 Examples: slave trade, piracy, genocide, aggression, torture and terrorism.

2. What is the principle of State Continuity?

 The state continues as a juristic being notwithstanding changes in its
circumstances, provided only that such changes do not result in the loss of
any of its essential elements.

3. What is Pacta Sunt Servanda?

 Pacta sunt servanda, which requires that treaties must be observed and
complied with in good faith. If necessary, the State concerned must even
modify its national legislation and constitution to make them conform to the
treaty, in order to avoid international embarrassment.

4. What are the Key Principles of International Law?

 State Sovereignty – U.N Charter Article 2.7
i. 2.7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the
United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within
the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members
to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but
this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement
measures under Chapter VII.
 Sovereign Equality – U.N Charter Article 2.1
i. 2.1 The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign
equality of all its Members
 Prohibition on the use of force - U.N Charter Article 2.4
i. 2.4 All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with
the Purposes of the United Nations.

5. What is the Doctrine of Incorporation?

 is expressed in Sec. 2, Art. II, Philippine Constitution, as follows: “The
Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the
generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the
 land, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom,
cooperation and amity with all nations”.

 The doctrine of transformation requires the enactment by the legislative

body of such international law principles as are sought to be part of
municipal law.

6. What are the sources of International Law?

 On the domestic sphere, the constitution, legislative enactments and case
law (stare decisis). On the international plane, it is a bit complicated
because there is no body likened to a national legislature, no fundamental
law, and the doctrine of precedents is not applicable.
 Material and Formal sources
 Statute of the International Court of Justice (Article 38)
 As Primary Sources:
i. International Treaties and Conventions
ii. International Customs
iii. General Principles of Law
 As Secondary Sources:
i. Judicial Decisions
ii. Writings of publicists

7. How are States created?

 By revolution, unification, secession, assertion of independence, agreement
and attainment of civilization.
 Extinction of States. By extinction or emigration en masse of its population,
loss of territory, overthrow of government resulting in anarchy.

8. Why is there a necessity to distinguish between a subject and object of

international law?
 A subject is an entity that has rights and responsibilities under international
law; it can be a proper party in transactions involving the application of the
law of nations among members of the international community. An object
is a person or thing in respect of which rights are held and obligations
assumed by the subject; it is not directly governed by the rules of
international law; its rights are received, and its responsibilities imposed,
indirectly through the instrumentality of an international agency.
 The separation between those clothed with personality, and those that are
not, is meant to denote which entities are ultimately given legal personality
in the international arena. Such a conferment of legal personality is an
 acknowledgment of that entity being party to a several rights and duties
that may be found in the international sphere.

9. Give at least three (3) examples of international agreements which

grant individuals some degree of international personality.
 Although traditionally, individuals have been considered merely as objects,
not subjects, of international law, they have also been granted a certain
degree of international personality under a number of international
agreements, some of which are:
i. [a] UN Charter provision on “faith in fundamental human rights,
dignity and worth of the human person, and in the equal rights of
men and women”;
ii. [b] Universal Declaration of Human Rights provision on “the inherent
dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family”;
iii. [c] Some treaties, e.g., the Treaty of Versailles, which confer on
individuals the right to bring suit against States before national or
international tribunals;
iv. [d] The need for States to maintain an international standard of
justice in the treatment of aliens;
v. [e] The Genocide Convention, which condemns the mass
extermination of national, ethnic, racial or religious groups;
vi. [f] The 1930 Hague Convention with its rules to prevent the
anomalous condition of statelessness, and the 1954 Covenant
Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which grants stateless
individuals certain basic rights; and
vii. [g] The 1950 European Convention on Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, which grants private associations and
individuals the right to file complaints before the European Court on
Human Rights.

10. What are the conditions for the recognition of the status of a
belligerency?
The usual conditions for the recognition of the status of belligerency are:
A. Organized civil government having control and supervision over the
armed struggle;
B. Serious and widespread struggle with the outcome uncertain;
C. Occupation of a substantial portion of the national territory; and
D. Willingness on the part of the rebels to observe the rules/ customs of
war.
Note:
(1) Absence of any of the foregoing conditions will result merely in insurgency which is
rarely recognized.
(2) Recognition may be either express or implied; the proclamation by the parent state
of a blockade of a port held by the rebels is implied recognition of belligerency; so is the
proclamation of neutrality by a third state

11. What are the subjects of international law?

 states, colonies and dependencies, mandates and trust territories,
the Holy See (Vatican City), the United Nations, belligerent-
communities, international administrative bodies, and, to a certain
extent, individuals.

12. Requirements for Recognition of Government

 The government is stable and effective, with no substantial resistance to its
authority; the government must show willingness and ability to discharge
its international obligations; and the government must enjoy popular
consent or approval of the people.
i. Tobar/Wilson Doctrine: precludes recognition of any government
established by revolutionary means until constitutional
reorganization by free election of representatives.
ii. Stimson Doctrine: No recognition of a government established
through external aggression.
iii. ) Estrada Doctrine: Since recognition has been construed as approval
(and non-recognition, disapproval) of a government established
through a political upheaval, a state may not issue a declaration
giving recognition to such government, but merely accept whatever
government is in effective control without raising the issue of
recognition. Dealing or not dealing with the government is not a
judgment on the legitimacy of the said government.

13. Domestic jurisdiction clause.

 The Security Council may take such steps as are necessary for the
settlement of disputes, including preventive or enforcement action, as
mentioned above. The only limitation is that the dispute must be
international, not domestic, in character. Otherwise, such action would
violate the principle that the UN shall not intervene in any matter within the
domestic jurisdiction of any State.
14. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF STATES
 Existence and Self-Preservation.
i. Aggression: The use of armed force by a state against the
sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another
state, or in other any manner inconsistent with the UN Charter. The
first use of armed force by a State in contravention of the UN Charter
is prima facie evidence of an act of aggression
 Right to Sovereignty and Independence.
i. Sovereignty is the totality of the powers, legal competence and
privileges of a state arising from customary international law, and
not dependent on the consent of another state.
ii. Independence is the freedom to conduct foreign relations without
outside control.
iii. Intervention. Act by which a states interferes in the domestic or
foreign affairs of another state through the use of force or threat of
force (whether physical, political or economic).
 The Right of Equality.
i. Act of State doctrine. Every sovereign state is bound to respect the
independence of every other state, and the courts of one country will
not sit in judgment on the acts of the government of another, done
within its territory. Redress of grievances by reason of such acts must
be obtained through the means open to be availed of by sovereign
powers as between themselves.
ii. Par in parem non habet imperium (Latin for 'equals have no
sovereignty over each other') is a general principle of international
law, forming the basis of state immunity. Because of this principle, a
sovereign state cannot exercise jurisdiction over another sovereign
state. All states are sovereign equals and cannot assert jurisdiction
over one another
 Right of Jurisdiction and Acquisition of properties