PIL - Exam Questions - Theory (not from Collection)

This course contains exam questions from previous exams that are not features in the Exam Training or in the Exam Questions Collection included in the "Medienkoffer".

11 flashcards · Law · by daniel-eder

During an IAC in Absurdia, ... the Absurdian soldier Tom takes his gun and steals the uniform of a paramedic and after putting on the uniform and hiding the gun underneath, moments later, Tom gets ambushed by Bazarian troops who take him with them and lock him up. Legally assess the above scenario.
Tom is a soldier and thus a combatant according to Art 43 (2) AP I However by not wearing fixed distinctive signs (such as his uniform) to identify him as a combatant, nor carrying his arms openly and even using a paramedic uniform and hiding his gun he is in violation of the principle of distinction. Tom loses his combatant status, and is thus not a prisoner of war according to Art 44 (4) AP I.
During an IAC in Absurdia, ... the Absurdian soldier Tom takes his gun and steals the uniform of a paramedic and after putting on the uniform and hiding the gun underneath, he approaches a Bazarian soldier and shoots him. Legally assess the above scenario.
Tom is a soldier and thus a combatant according to Art 43 (2) AP I As such shooting a Bazarian solider is not generally prohibited in an IAC, because he is also a combatant and thus a military objective. However, falsely claiming a protected status as paramedic is Perfidy according to Art 37 para 1 (d) AP I and is unlawful.
During an IAC in Absurdia, ... the Absurdian soldier Tom takes his gun and steals the uniform of a paramedic and after putting on the uniform and hiding the gun underneath, moments later, Tom gets ambushed by Bazarian troops who take him with them and lock him up. Bill, a friend of Tom and also a member of the armed forces of Absurdia, hears about this and tries to convince his commanding officer to rescue Tom, saying "we have to get him out, whatever it takes", which his superior refuses. Bill…
The supermarket is not a military objective (makes no effective contribution to military action), so it is a civilian objective. Firing the bomb violates Art 52 AP I Absurdia is responsible for this attack, as Bill as a member of its armed forces is attributable to Absurdia. Bill is individually responsible for committing the act. Bill's superior did not order, encourage, aid or abet the bombing, but he should have known violations of IHL might occur in the process of Bill attempting to free To…
During an IAC in Absurdia, ... the Absurdian soldier Tom takes his gun and steals the uniform of a paramedic and after putting on the uniform and hiding the gun underneath, moments later, Tom gets ambushed by Bazarian troops who take him with them and lock him up. Tom's friend Bill ignites a bomb as a distraction and frees Tom. ... meanwhile, Tom's wife Cathy, mistakenly believing her husband has died, grabs a gun and in blind rage shoots every Bazarian soldier crossing her way. Legally assess…
Cathy was a civilian. By shooting the Bazarian soldiers she becomes a DPH, because she commits an act which by its nature and purpose is intended to cause actual harm to enemy personnel. While shooting the soldiers she is a legitimate target, but as soon as she stops directly participating in the hostilities she regains her status as protected civilian (revolving door phenomenon)
Explain how the concept of state immunity and the jurisdiction of the ICJ can be aligned
All states are equal in PIL, they are on the same hierarchical level. As a result states are immune from each other's jurisdictions, courts of one state will not judge the acts of another state, when that state acts with imperium. This can be aligned with the ICJ jurisdiction because there is no mandatory court system in PIL, instead states voluntarily submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the ICJ and thus waive part of their immunity.
Explain the concept of the contiguous zone!
Regulated in Art 33 UNCLOS It is the band of water from the outer edge of the territorial sea, that may not exceed 24nm from the baseline according to Art 33 (2) UNCLOS. In it the coastal state does not have territorial sovereignty, but can exercise the rights to control customs-, sanitary-, fiscal- and immigration regulations and punish infringements = limited jurisdiction zone It must be claimed by the coastal state, unlike territorial sea it does not exist automatically.
"The vast majority of States can create an international organization whose international personality also extends to non-parties" Discuss!
International Organizations are so-called derivative subjects of international law, they derive their legal personality from its founding states. The legal personality is restricted ratione materiae to the subject matter covered by the founding treaty. This leaves the question if the legal personality is also limited ratione personae to its founding parties. The ICJ found in the case "reparation for injuries" that the UN has objective legal personality "erga omnes", meaning also towards non-par…
What is the combatant's privilege?
two elements: killing enemy combatants is considered a lawful act of war - no criminal prosecution in case of capture they are considered POW and have the rights outlined in GC 3
Does the combatant's privielge apply to NIACs?
both the concepts of combatants and of the combatant's privilege only exist in IACs
After children dying from the use of a gas that was supposed to incapacitate a rebel group hiding a school building there is outrage in the international community. Some states call for the adoption of an international treaty prohibiting the use of chemical gasses, including incapacitating agents during armed conflict. Other states argue, that such a treaty is not necessary, because chemical gasses are already prohibited by IHL. Discuss!
in principle, chemical weapons are already regulated by IHL in the "Chemical Weapons Convention" (CWC) However this convention uses a very imprecise definition of chemical weapons, and exempts uses "where intended for purposes not prohibited"
What are the constitutive elements of a state?
no legally binding definition, but there are three elements that are generally accepted as required: permanent population size does not matter, no minimum requirement territory size does not matter it does not matter if some borders are disputed government (see card on "government" in https://www.memcode.com/courses/11044) Fourth element according to montevideo convention: capacity to enter into relations with other states objectively only the above three are needed recognition is only declarat…