International & Comparative Law: LL5304 PIL Coursework Case Analysis

This coursework analyzes four case scenarios related to international law. The first case examines territorial disputes and the acquisition of title under international law, referencing the Falkland Islands dispute and the principle of inter-temporal law. The second scenario focuses on the right to self-defense, exploring the principles of necessity, proportionality, and immediacy, as well as the legality of anticipatory self-defense. The third case considers self-determination, the right of minorities, and the conditions for secession. The final case addresses international treaties governing outer space, specifically the Outer Space Treaty and the Declaration of Principles. The analysis covers key international law concepts and the implications of these treaties.

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International & Comparative Law – LL5304
PIL Coursework 2019/20

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Case scenario 1............................................................................................................................................3
Case Scenario 2............................................................................................................................................5
Case Scenario 3............................................................................................................................................7
Case Scenario 4............................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
This report reveals the key understanding on the international treaty law and implication of
different case scenario which helps in evaluating the case in the different aspect and scenario. In
the starting of this report, case related to looming danger of an armed attack. It is also required
and using force in self-protection which should be equivalent to the threat based on the principle
of inter-temporal law, justification. The titles that have been required before the force used for
obtaining such title. In the second case, implication of the international treaty upon the principles
of necessity, proportionality and immediacy, which are treated as a part of customary law. This
shows that the provision is generally read as excluding appropriations by a single state or private
persons. This agreement is also applicable in case of all other heavenly forms present in the
space, except Earth. However, in the other part, implication related to the self-determination in
the different situation. In the end part of this report, implication of the international treaties have
been undertaken. These two treaties are considered as the most significant sources of space law.
It has been provided by Article II that the solar system is not going to be the subject of national
annexation by claiming sovereignty

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Case scenario 1
This case reveal the implication of the dispute undertaken and claiming International Court of
Justice (ICJ) in the historical evidence and offsetting titles in the work. Under international law,
there are several factors which manage the dealings between sovereign nations and the
acquisition of title on a particular territory. Therefore, when a state claiming possession then the
protest would be made. It shows that it has lapsed and if the protest had resulted in offsetting the
setting up of the title1. The reason is that whenever there is a situation which may prove to be
disadvantages for the state, the state will naturally loge a protest. Therefore, in case of the
process concerning acquisition of title over a particular territory, it is not unusual that the method
of protest is treated as a considerable obstructing factor.2 An example in this regard can be given
of the disagreement between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. In
this case, the avenues under the international law that can be used by Britain for asserting its
claim over the Falkland Islands have been discussed. For example, Francis Pym, the then foreign
Sec. had told parliament that he was consistently given advice that the title of the United
Kingdom can be based on the fact of the possession of the islands by the United Kingdom from
1833 prescription and self-determination. However in the Sedudu Island case, it has been
mentioned by the international Court of Justice that there are four conditions that need to be
fulfilled for the purpose of allowing the possession by a State (like that of Britain in Falklands
case). So that it may make sure into prescriptive title.3 These conditions are that (i). The
possession should be exercised as a part of exercising sovereign authority; (ii) the possession
needs to be uninterrupted and peaceful; (iii) It should be public; and (iv). It should endure for a
1 D. Bowett, 'The Impact Of Security Council Decisions On Dispute Settlement Procedures' (1994) 5 European
Journal of International Law
2 Jaap Donath, 'Why Do State Give Up Sovereignity?' (1999) 1 International Studies Review.
3 Mathias Forteau, 'Comparative International Law Within, Not Against, International Law: Lessons From The
International Law Commission' (2015) 109 The American Journal of International Law.

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certain length of time. These all conditions needs to be satisfied to strengthen the compliance
program of the agreement for the ICJ4.
For example in the present case, it can be claimed by Galaxia that it had acquired title over
Flakia Island by conquest. The issue in this case is if conquest can still apply, in view of the
predictions that have been imposed by the UN charter on using force and also by 1928 Briand
Kellog Pact5. It has also been mentioned in 1970 Declaration of the set principles in the
international law that their duty is present on part of every State to stay away from recognizing
any territory requisitioned by another State, by acting against the provisions of Article 2(4), UN
Charter. This principle also explains why the Resolution 662 of the UN Security Council had
declared that the annexation of Kuwait in 1990 by Iraqi forces does not have any legal validity
and has to be treated as null and void. India of the circumstances, it can be stated that the law of
conquest has been declined to the point where it provides that under the doctrine of inter-
temporal law, justification is only available in case of exceptional cases, which is the titles that
have been required before the force used for obtaining such title.6 In case of their dispute
between United Kingdom and Argentina, this exception is not applicable to the invasion of
Falkland Islands in 1833 by Britain even if it appears that Britain had fulfilled all the
requirements of successfully acquired title by conquest. Nonetheless, law of conquest has been
declined to the point where it provides that under the principle of inter-temporal law
Hence it can be stated in the present case that the transferring Flakia Island to Galaxia is not
complete under international law. In that case, any of the activities and other actions undertaken
in this work by the international countries would be considered as wrongful act or ill-legal acts
4 Jaap Donath, 'Why Do State Give Up Sovereignity?' (1999) 1 International Studies Review.
5 Irene Couzigou, 'The Right To Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors: Criteria Of The Unwilling Or Unablee Test'
[2016] SSRN Electronic Journal.
6 Peter A. Toma, 'Soviet Attitude Towards The Acquisition Of Territorial Sovereignty In The Antarctic' (1956) 50 The
American Journal of International Law.

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undertaken for the work program. Furthermore, all the acts undertaken by the different countries
need to be supported with the article program. The part of every State to stay away from
recognizing any territory requisitioned by another State, by acting against the provisions of
Article 2(4), UN Charter. This shows how well the article has work program is supported with
the compliance program and helps in setting up the work program for these different states in the
compliance program level7.
Case Scenario 2
In this case scenario, the issue is that Galaxia would set that it had undergone an armed attack by
Twixia so that it can lawfully exercise the right to self-defense. In The Caroline v. United States,8
ICJ had provided the principles of necessity, proportionality and immediacy, which are
considered to be a part of customary international law. Even if it has been mentioned in Article
51 UN Charter that it includes the acts of terrorism as armed attacks, but it does not provide a
right to the States elections is when there is only a threat of force. Such a situation would not
have arisen if the term 'armed attack' has been explained.9 However, the interpretation of article
51 reveals that it was not the intention that anticipates a self-defense should be included in it10.
UN documents, State practice at the decisions of International Court of Justice can be presented
as evidence of practice and if opinio juris is present, the behavior can be considered as a part of
customary international law. For example, preventive self-defense has been promoted by the
United States. It can be compared with the anticipate a self-defense as the Bush doctrine is wider
in scope and it includes self-defense against any general or particular armed attack that a State
7 Shoko Kohama, 'Territorial Acquisition, Commitment, And Recurrent War' (2018) 19 International Relations of the
Asia-Pacific.
8 Caroline v. United States: 11 U.S. 496 (1813)
9 Paço Spiro, 'Sovereignity, Statehood And Self-Determination In International Law - The Kosovo Case' (2016) 13
Academicus International Scientific Journal.
10 Shabnam Haji, 'The Right Of Self-Defence: The Gravity Of The Use Of Force And Isolated Incidents As Armed
Attack' [2011] SSRN Electronic Journal.

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believes, may take place.11 In this regard, it is the opinion of the United Nations that the Security
Council has the authority to anticipate a self-defense if an item has been placed before them, but
the principle of non-intervention also needs to be considered while accepting the legality that the
States can act against an anticipate the attack on their own device12. For this purpose it is
required that there should be a looming danger of an attack and at the same time it is also
required and the force used in self-defense should be proportional.13 In Nicaragua, Nuclear
Weapons Case and Oil Platforms Case, the ICJ has confirmed that the criterion of proportionality
is also a part of customary international law. It was also mentioned in Nicaragua case that the
term 'armed attack' refers to the actual commencement of physical violence by the armed forces
and separated great use of force and less grave use of force as mentioned in Gen. Assembly
Resolution 331414.
Therefore, the experts are of the opinion that it is not legal for the States to act anticipatory
unless such action has been authorized by the Security Council and is present between legality
and legitimacy with the force can be used. If a state had acted in self-defense against a threat of
force or aggression, which had not reached the threshold of an armed attack, it may be
considered as illegal if it has not been authorized by the Security Council. However it can also be
legitimate in the eyes of community, which had a choice to condemn or omit to condemn. In
view of this discussion, the use of force by Galaxia cannot be justified even if the other measures
can be justified. The given case has shown the applicability of the international treaty laws and
11 Xhabir Zejnuni, 'Popular Or Partial Sovereignity?' [2014] Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.
12 Peter A. Toma, 'Soviet Attitude Towards The Acquisition Of Territorial Sovereignty In The Antarctic' (1956) 50 The
American Journal of International Law.
13 G. Marston, 'The British Acquisition Of The Nicobar Islands, 1869: A Possible Example Of Abandonment Of
Territorial Sovereignty' (1999) 69 British Yearbook of International Law.
14 Georg Nolte, 'The International Legal System: Is Its Nature Changing?' (2005) 8 Austrian Review of International
and European Law Online

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the legality behind compliance with these international treaties by the countries in their
international business and non-business transactions.

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Case Scenario 3
In the present case scenario, the issue is if independence should be granted to Yorkia as per the
wishes of the people of Yorkia or if Galixia can transfer the control of this place to Snickerland.
According to the provisions of international law, the minorities qualifying as 'peoples' have been
provided the right to self-determination. This right can be described as the right to freely decide
their administrative destiny and also the type of representative administration.15 The history of
the principle of self-determination goes to the conclusion of First World War. The nations losing
the War, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary were divested of their colonies
and a number of new nations were created from the area belonging to the previous empires. In
1920, by depending on this recently articulated norm, the Swedish speaking persons from the
Aaland Islands insisted on holding a plebiscite for expressing the will to find if they wanted to
separate from Finland, and for the purpose of uniting with Sweden16. Ultimately, the claim of the
Aalanders was determined by a jurists committee appointed by the League of Nations. This
committee decided that right was not available to the Aalanders to detach from Finland17. The
reasoning given in this regard was that the given separation settled from the minority from the
state which it is a part, can be considered only as a completely exceptional solution, or the last
resolved when the State either have the will or the power of enacting and applying just and
effective guarantees”. Therefore, according to the concept of self-determination, explaining the
secession of populaces from their present land was available as a matter of last resort only and in
15 Barbara Kwiatkowska, 'The Eritrea-Yemen Arbitration: Landmark Progress In The Acquisition Of Territorial
Sovereignty And Equitable Maritime Boundary Delimitation' (2001) 32 Ocean Development & International Law.
16 Gautam Nayak and Ravindra Chhaba, 'The Right Of Self-Defence Under International Law' [2011] SSRN Electronic
Journal.
17 Tania Montoro and Ceiça Ferreira, 'Mulheres Negras, Religiosidades E Protagonismos No
Cinema Brasileiro' (2014) 14 Galáxia (São Paulo).

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circumstances where the populace has been oppressed or where the government of the mother
state failed to lawfully denote the interests of the people.18
Apart from the UN charter itself, there are two UN declarations, the 1960s Declaration on
Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and the 1970 Friendly Relations Declaration.
However, in case of these two declarations, self-determination, resulting in secession, considered
as an issue of last resort in the paradigm of de-colonialization. Therefore in these provisions,
self-determination, leading to secession has been considered as a matter of last-ditch effort.
Hence in the present case also, the matter should be raised before the ICJ by Galaxia.
Case Scenario 4
Before the adoption of Outer Space Treaty, nations had adopted the Declaration of principles
given in the legal governing activities of the use of the outer space in the given year 1963. The
principles were however similar to the language that was later used in the Outer Space Treaty.
This declaration was accepted in 1963 by a unanimous vote of the UN Gen. Assembly. Although
the US and Soviet Union considered these principles as the international law, some countries did
not. 19For the purpose of mitigating the concerns of some countries that these principles were not
official agreement, they have been incorporated into the Outer Space Treaty, 196720. These two
treaties are considered as the most significant sources of space law. There is need to set up
proper compliance program which helps the different countries to set up strong relation and
strengthen the effective compliance program in their international treaties. It has been provided
by Article II that the universe is not going to be the subject of national appropriation by claiming
18 Henry J. Richardson III and S. Akweenda, 'International Law And The Protection Of Namibia's Territorial Integrity:
Boundaries And Territorial Claims.' (1999) 93 The American Journal of International Law.
19 T. Pogge, 'International Law Between Two Futures' (2014) 5 Journal of International Dispute
Settlement.
20 Howard J. Taubenfeld, 'International Actions And Neutrality' (2010) 47 The American Journal of
International Law

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sovereignty.21 In this aid becomes clear that the original intention behind the introduction of
Outer space law was to cooperate and to benefit all the mankind. In the same way, the original
purpose behind the Moon agreement was to be a second more general treaty as compared to the
three minor treaties.22 Officially the Moon agreement has been named as "Agreement Governing
the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". However it needs to be noted
that neither the United States nor the Soviet Union had been a signatory to it. Due to the reason
that the agreement was never ratified by the United States or the Soviet Union, it was considered
as a failure23. However, the matter should be placed before the ICJ by Galaxia. These treaties are
developed to set up strong work program and set the Agreement Governing the Activities of
States on the Moon for the better understanding of the treaties undertaken by the different
countries. 24
It also needs to be mentioned that in view of the fact that there are certain domestic bills, which
recognize property rights over space resources, does not make these appropriations law full
under global law. It should also be mentioned that the Moon Agreement had mentioned in
Article 11(1) that the "moon and its natural resources are to be considered as the common
heritage of mankind". 25This provision is generally read as excluding appropriations by a single
state or private persons26. This agreement is also applicable in case of all other heavenly figures
present in the space, except the Earth. Therefore in view of the above discussion, it can be stated
that a claim cannot be made by Galaxia on a piece of land on the moon.
21 Indi Hodgson-Johnston, 'The Laws Of Territorial Acquisition As Applied To Claims To Antarctic Territory: A Review
Of Legal Scholarship' (2015) 7 The Yearbook of Polar Law Online
22 Eric Landowski, 'Regimes De Espaço' [2015] Galáxia (São Paulo).
23 G. Marston, 'The British Acquisition Of The Nicobar Islands, 1869: A Possible Example Of Abandonment Of
Territorial Sovereignty' (1999) 69 British Yearbook of International Law
24 Heloisa Prates, 'Crítica Social E Participação Política Na Internet' (2014) 14 Galáxia (São
Paulo).
25 Camila Barros, 'Industrialização Da Celebridade' (2013) 13 Galáxia (São Paulo).
26 T. Pogge, 'International Law Between Two Futures' (2014) 5 Journal of International Dispute
Settlement.

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Conclusion
After assessing all the details and implemented four cases, it has been inferred that the proper
international treaty of the work, ICJ by Galaxia has been given. The assessment of the case has
revealed the two treaties are considered as the most significant sources of space law. It has been
provided by Article II that space is not going to be the subject of national appropriation through
claiming sovereignty. However, it has been considered that applicability of the international
treaty laws and the legality behind compliance with these international treaties by the countries
in their international business and non-business transactions. This has shown that the
international laws and implications to meet the treaties that are considered as the most significant
sources of space law for the better compliance program.

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Bibliography
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Aureli SP Demartini, 'Rethinking The Cross-Border Acquisition Process In Terms Of Territorial
Social Responsibility' (2015) 11 World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and
Sustainable Development
Banai A, 'Territorial Conflict And Territorial Rights: The Crimean Question Reconsidered'
(2015) 16 German Law Journal
Barros C, 'Industrialização Da Celebridade' (2013) 13 Galáxia (São Paulo)
Blanken L, 'Defending The Empire:Rational Empiresand The Study Of Territorial Acquisition'
(2013) 3 Global Discourse
Bowett D, 'The Impact of Security Council Decisions On Dispute Settlement Procedures' (1994)
5 European Journal of International Law
Couzigou I, 'The Right To Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors: Criteria Of The Unwilling Or
Unablee Test' [2016] SSRN Electronic Journal
Donath J, 'Why Do State Give Up Sovereignity?' (1999) 1 International Studies Review
Haji S, 'The Right Of Self-Defence: The Gravity Of The Use Of Force And Isolated Incidents As
Armed Attack' [2011] SSRN Electronic Journal

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Hodgson-Johnston I, 'The Laws Of Territorial Acquisition As Applied To Claims To Antarctic
Territory: A Review Of Legal Scholarship' (2015) 7 The Yearbook of Polar Law Online
III HS Akweenda, 'International Law And The Protection Of Namibia's Territorial Integrity:
Boundaries And Territorial Claims.' (1999) 93 The American Journal of International Law
Kohama S, 'Territorial Acquisition, Commitment, And Recurrent War' (2018) 19 International
Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Kwiatkowska B, 'The Eritrea-Yemen Arbitration: Landmark Progress In The Acquisition Of
Territorial Sovereignty And Equitable Maritime Boundary Delimitation' (2001) 32 Ocean
Development & International Law
Landowski E, 'Regimes De Espaço' [2015] Galáxia (São Paulo)
Marston G, 'The British Acquisition Of The Nicobar Islands, 1869: A Possible Example Of
Abandonment Of Territorial Sovereignty' (1999) 69 British Yearbook of International Law
Mathias Forteau, 'Comparative International Law Within, Not Against, International Law:
Lessons From The International Law Commission' (2015) 109 The American Journal of
International Law
Montoro TC Ferreira, 'Mulheres Negras, Religiosidades E Protagonismos No Cinema Brasileiro'
(2014) 14 Galáxia (São Paulo)
Nayak GR Chhaba, 'The Right Of Self-Defence Under International Law' [2011] SSRN
Electronic Journal

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Nolte G, 'The International Legal System: Is Its Nature Changing?' (2005) 8 Austrian Review of
International and European Law Online
Pogge T, 'International Law Between Two Futures' (2014) 5 Journal of International Dispute
Settlement
Prates H, 'Crítica Social E Participação Política Na Internet' (2014) 14 Galáxia (São Paulo)
Spiro P, 'Sovereignity, Statehood And Self-Determination In International Law - The Kosovo
Case' (2016) 13 Academicus International Scientific Journal
Taubenfeld H, 'International Actions And Neutrality' (2010) 47 The American Journal of
International Law
Toma P, 'Soviet Attitude Towards The Acquisition Of Territorial Sovereignty In The Antarctic'
(1956) 50 The American Journal of International Law
Zejnuni X, 'Popular Or Partial Sovereignity?' [2014] Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary
Studies