PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL

LAW
ATTY. JONNIE L. DABUCO
 SETTLEMENT OF
INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES
 Amicable Methods
1. Negotiation
2. Inquiry
3. Good Offices
4. Mediation
5. Conciliation
6. Arbitration
7. Judicial Settlement
8. Resort to Regional and Internationl
organization
 Hostile Methods
 1. Retorsion -
 2. Reprisals
 3. Intervention
 4. War
 WAR
 Armed contention between the public
forces of states or other belligerent
communities, implying the employment of
force between the parties for the purpose
of imposing their respective demands
upon each other.
When does war commence?
 With a declaration of war

 With the rejection of ultimatum

 With the commission of an act of force

regarded by at least one of the parties as
an act of war.
General effects of the outbreak of
war
 Laws of peace ceases to regulate the
relations of the belligerents and are
superseded by the laws of war. Third
states are governed by the laws of
neutrality in their dealings with the
belligerents
 Diplomatic and consular relations are
terminated.
 Treaties are cancelled except those
intended to operate during war
 How is character of individuals
determined
 Domiciliary test

 Nationality test

 Activities test
 Who are combatants?
 Members of the armed forces

 Irregular forces provided they are:

1. commanded by a person responsible for
his subordinates
2. they wear fixed, distinctive sign
recognizable at a distance
carry arms openly
3. they conduct their operations in
accordance with the LOW
 Inhabitants of unoccupied territory who,
on approach of the enemy, spontaneously
take arms to resist invading troops
provided they carry arms openly and
operate in accordance with the LOW
 Officers and crews of merchant vessel
who forcibly resist attack
Rights of captured combatants
 Respect commensurate with their rank
 Adequate food and clothing
 Safe and sanitary quarters
 Medical assistance
 Refuse to give military information or
render military service against their own
state
 Communicate with their family
Basic principles underlying the laws
of war
 Principle of military necessity

 Principle of humanity

 Principle chivalry
 According to Jean-Jacques
Rousseasu:
“War is in no way a relationship of man with
man but a relationship between states, in which
individuals are enemies only by accident; not as
men, nor even as citizens, but as soldiers (...).
Since the object of war is to destroy the enemy
state, it is legitimate to kill the latter’s defenders
as long as they are carrying arms; but as soon
as they lay them down and surrender, they
cease to be enemies or agents of the enemy,
and again become mere men, and it is no longer
legitimate to take their lives”.
 Principle of necessity
 Belligerents may, subject to the other two
principles, employ any amount and kind of
force to compel the complete submission
of the enemy with the least possible loss
of lives, time and money.
 Principle of humanity
 Prohibits the use of any measure that is not
absolutely necessary for the purposes of the
war, such as the poisoning of wells and
weapons, the employment of dum-dum or
expanding bullets and asphyxiating gases, the
destruction of works of art and property
devoted to religious and humanitarian
purposes, the bombarding of undefended
places, and attack on hospital ships. Pillage is
prohibited. Treatment of hors de combat also
come under this principle
 Principle of chivalry
 Requires belligerents to give proper warning
before launching a bombardment or prohibit
the use of perfidy in the conduct of
hostilities. Ruse and strategem are allowed.
 Use of Red Cross emblem is prohibited
 False flag is prohibited in land warfare
 But war vessels may sail under flag not their
own, subject to the requirement that they
haul it and hoist their own flag before attack.
 Espionage is not prohibited.
Fundamental principles of IHL

 Principle of Distinction

 Principle of Proportionality

 Principle of military necessity

ICRC statements which sums
up the basic rules governing
armed conflicts:
 The Soldier’s Rule
 1. Be a disciplined soldier. Disobedience of
the laws of war dishonours your army
and yourself and causes unnecessary
suffering; far from weakening the enemy’s
to fight, it often strengthens it.
 2. Fight only enemy combatants and
attack only military objectives.
 3. Destroy no more than your mission
requires.
 4. Do not fight enemies who are out of
combat’ ( hors de combat) or who
surrender. Disarm them and hand them
over to your superior.
 5. Collect and care for the wounded and
sick, be they friend or foe.
 6. Treat all civilians and all enemies in
your power with humanity.
 7. Prisoners of war must be treated
humanely and are bound to give only
information about their identity. No
physical or mental torture of prisoners of
war is permitted.
 8. Do not take hostages.
 9. Abstain from all acts of vengeance.
 10. Respect all persons and objects bearing
the emblem of the red cross, red crescent,
red lion and sun, the white flag of truce or
emblems designating cultural property.
 11. Respect other people’s property.
Looting is prohibited.
 12. Endeavour to prevent any breach of the
above rules. Report any violation to your
superior. Any breach of the law of war is
punishable.
Fundamental Rules of IHL applicable
to armed conflicts
 1. Persons hors de combat and those who
dot take a direct part in hostilities are
entitled to respect for their lives and
moral and physical integrity. They shall in
all circumstances be protected and
treated humanely without any adverse
distinction.
 2. Its is forbidden to kill or injure an
enemy who surrenders or is hors de
combat.
 3. The wounded and sick shall be collected and
cared for by the party to the conflict which has
then in its power. Protection also covers medical
personnel, establishment, transports and
equipment. The emblem of the Red Cross or the
Red Crescent is the sign of such protection and
must be protected.
 4. Captured combatants and civilians under the
authority of an adverse party are entitled to
respect for their lives, dignity, personal rights, and
convictions. They shall be protected against all
acts of violence and reprisals. They shall have the
rights to correspond with their families and
receive relief.
 5. Everyone shall be entitled to benefit
from fundamental judicial guarantees. No
one shall be responsible for an act he has
not committed. No one shall be
subjected to physical and mental torture,
corporal punishment or cruel or
degrading treatment.
 6. Parties to a conflict and members of
their armed forces do not have an
unlimited choice of methods and means
of warfare. It is prohibited to employ
weapons or methods of warfare of a
nature to cause unnecessary losses or
excessive suffering.
 7. The general rule prohibiting attacks
upon the civilian population implies, as
corollary, the prohibition to attack,
destroy, remove, or render useless
objects indispensable to the survival of
the civilian population.
 8. All feasible precautions have to be taken
to avoid injury, loss or damage to the
civilian population.
Prohibition and Restrictions on the
Use of Certain Weapons
 1. The customary rule prohibiting the use
of chemical weapons, such as those
containing asphyxiating or vesicant agents,
and the use of bacteriological (bacterial)
weapons is applicable in non-international
armed conflicts.
 The customary rule prohibiting bullets
which expand or flattens easily in the
human body, such as the Dum-Dum
bullets, is applicable in non-international
armed conflicts.
 The customary rule prohibiting the use of
poison as a means of warfare is applicable
in non-international armed conflicts.
 Precaution must be taken to protect
civilians from attacks in the form of mines,
booby-traps and other devices.

 Incendiary weapons may not be directed

against the civilian population as such,
against individual civilians or civilian
objects, nor used indiscriminately.
 Neutrality
 Is the condition of a state that does not
take part, directly or indirectly, in a war
between other states. If recognized by the
belligerents, this condition gives rise to
rights and obligations between them and
the neutral state in their mutual relations.
 Mutual rights and duties of the
neutral and belligerent states
 A neutral state has the right and duty to
ABSTAIN from taking part in the hostilities
and from giving assistance to either
belligerent;
 To prevent its territory from being used by
the belligerents in the conduct of the
hostilities;
 To AQUISENCE in certain restrictions and
limitations that the belligerents may find
necessary to impose, especially in
connection with international commerce
 The belligerents are bound to respect the
status of the neutral state, avoiding any
act that will directly or indirectly involve
it in their conflict and submitting to any
lawful measure it may take to maintain or
protect its neutrality.
 Neutrality and Neutralization
 Neutrality is dependent on the attitude of the
neutral state. Neutralization is the result of a
treaty.
 Neutrality is governed by the laws of nations;
Neutralization is governed by the neutralization
agreement.
 Neutrality obtains only during war, neutralization
is intended to operate in peace and war.
 Only states may become neutral; neutralization
may apply to portions of the territory of the
state, like islands, rivers, canals
 Termination of Neutrality
 Neutral state joins the war
 End of war
International Environmental Law
 Challenges:
 1. Intrusion into the domestic jurisdiction
and sovereignty of states.
 2. The magnitude of the challenge such
that they require not only the joint action
of states but also the involvement of non-
state actors.
 Lack of clear and specific international
rules on environmental protection
 Treaties related to Environmental
Protection
 Arts. 192-194 of LOS- marine pollution
 Vienna Convention on the Protection of
the Ozone Layer
 UN Conference on Environment and
Development – stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentration in the
atmosphere
 Kyoto Protocol – protection of the
atmosphere
 Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora
 Convention on Biological Diversity
 Declarations
 Stockholm Declaration
 Rio Declaration