Part 2

NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS -1 Nonstate actors are also part of the international system, though they are not sovereign and do not have the same kinds of power resources as states. They include NGOs, transnational networks, foundations, and multinational corporations. NGOs are generally private, voluntary organizations who members are individuals or associations that come together to achieve a common purpose, often oriented to a public good. Incredibly diverse entities, ranging from entirely local and/or grassroots organizations to those organized nationally and transnationally. - The anti-slavery campaign was one of the earliest NGO-initiated efforts whose genesis lay in societies established in the 1780s dedicated to the abolition of slavery in the US, Britain, and France. Although NGOs took the first steps toward enforcing the principles,they were not strong enough to accomplish it. Successful enforcement did not come until almost a century.

Types of NGOs There are about NGOs that have an international dimension in terms if either their membership or their commitment to conducting activities in several states. Exclusively national NGOs may number upwards of Grassroots local NGOs may number in the millions. Depending on their funding resources and membership characteristics, an alphabet soup of acronyms specifying types of NGOs. These include GONGOs ( government- organized NGOs), BINGOs ( business and industry NGOs), DONGOs (donor-organized NGOs), and ONGOs (operational NGOs)..

The Growth of NGO Power and Influence Although NGOs are not new actors in international politics, they are growing in importance. Their numbers are rising exponentially that growth can be explained by the global spread of democracy, which provides an opening for NGO inputs, by the explosion of UN-sponsored global conferences in the 1990s, where NGOs took on new tasks, and by the electronic communication revolution, which enable NGOs to communicate and network both with each other and with their constituencies, providing a more forceful voice in the international policy arena.

International Law Since the beginning of the new millennium, int. law has captured the headlines more than perhaps at any other time. In the aftermath of 9/11, the US military actions in Afganistan/Iraq, and mounting humanitarian crises, international treaties have become well-known documents such as the Geneva Convention for Victims of War(1949), the UN Convention Against Torture (1984) and the Genocide Convention (1948).

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ITS FUNCTIONS Consists of a body of both rules and norms regulating interactions among states, between states and IGOs and in a more limited cases among IGOs, states, and individuals. Laws serve several purposes: 1) Providing order 2) Mechanism for settling disputes 3) Ethical/moral function At the state level, law is hierarchical. Established structures exist for both making law ( legislatures and executives) and enforcing law ( executives and judiciaries). Individuals and groups within the state are bound by law. But if the law is violated, the state authorities can compel violators to judgment and use the instruments of state authority to punish. At the international system, however, authoritative structures are absent: no international executive, no International legislature, and no judiciary with compulsory jurisdiction. As Legal Scholar Joyner puts, " international legal rules obtain their normative force not because any superior power or world government prescribes them but because they have been generally accepted by states as rules of conduct, with the expectation that states will follow suit."

Regardless of its differences than the ones in domestic systems, international law has an effect in daily life:

The Sources of International Law 1) Customs - Virtually all law emerges from custom. Either a hegemon or a group of states solves a problem in a particular way; these habits become ingrained as more states follow the same custom, and eventually the custom is codified into law. (i.e.the law of sea, the laws protecting diplomats) - But customary law is limited; it develops slowly and not all states participate in making of customary law. 2) Treaties - The dominant source of law today. - Explicitly written agreements among states, number more than since 1648 and cover all issues. - When deciding cases, most judicial bodies look to treaty law first. Treaties are legally binding: only major changes in circumstances give states the right not to follow treaties they have ratified. 3) Authoritative bodies - Among these bodies is the UN International Law Commission, composed of prominent international jurists. - That commission codified much customary law: the Law of the Sea (1958), the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties (1969), the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and on Consular Relations (1963). It also drafts new conventions for which there is no customary law. 4) Courts - Although the International Court of Justice (ICJ) located at Hague, the Netherlands, has been responsible for some significant decisions, the ICJ is basically weak institution for several reasons: 1) Hears a few cases 2) Rarely deal with major controversies of the day 3) Only states may initiate proceedings - In contrast, the European Court of Justice of the EU is a significant source of European law. - National and even local courts are also sources of international law. Under universal jurisdiction, states may claim jurisdiction if the conduct of a defendant is sufficiently tragic to violate the laws of all states (i.e.war crimes in Bosnia, Kosovo,and Rwanda).

Enforcement of International Law - The expansion of the international judiciary, motivated by the idea of individual responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. - In light of the difficulties with the ad hoc tribunals, in 1998 and under UN auspicies, states concluded the statue for the International Criminal Court (ICC), an innovative court having both compulsory jurisdiction and jurisdiction over individuals. - 4 types of crimes are covered: 1) Genocide ( attacking a group of people and killing them because of race, ethnicity or religion) 2) Crimes against humanity ( murder, enslavement, forcible transfer of population, torture) 3) War crimes and 4) Crimes of aggression. - No individuals are immune from jurisdiction, including heads of states and military leaders. - The ICC functions as a court of last resort, hearing cases only when national courts are unwilling or unable to deal with prosecuting grave atrocities.

ICC Investigations

Schedule Reminder May 14 : Research Paper Presentations May 21 : Movie Display at the class May 28: Submission of Movie Reviews at the class (printed-out, about 800 words) & Research Paper Presentations, check out June 4: Submission of Research Papers at the class, (printed-out, about words, with bibliography and references) – Review before Final