C. Subjects of International Law

D. Subjects of International Law

• States
• International Organizations
• Individuals
• Others

What is a subject of international law?

It is an entity that has rights and responsibilities under international law and which has the capacity to maintain its rights by bringing international claims.

They are entities endowed with rights and obligations in the international order and possessing the capacity to take certain kinds of actions on the international plane. In other words, they are those who have international personality. (Bernas, Public International Law, 2009).

What are examples of subjects of international law?

• States
• Colonies and dependencies
• Mandates and trust territories
• Belligerent communities
• International administrative bodies
• The United Nations
• The Vatican and the Holy See

What are objects of international law?

Those whose interests are affected or protected indirectly through subjects of international law. (Bernas, Public International Law, 2009).

They are those who indirectly have rights under or are beneficiaries of international law through subjects of international law. (Bernas, Public International Law, 2009).

What is the difference between subjects and objects?

1. STATES

What are States?

State, as a subject of international law, has international personality which means that it has the right to have its claims respected internationally. A State has absolute personality.

What are the two views regarding recognition?

• Declarative Theory - recognition is merely “declaratory” of the existence of the state and that its being a state depends upon its possession of the required elements and not upon recognition. (Bernas, Public International Law, 2009).
• Constitutive Theory - recognition “constitutes” a state, that is, it is what it makes a state a state and confers legal personality on the entity. (Bernas, Public International Law, 2009).

The weight of authority favors the “declaratory view.” (Bernas, Public International Law, 2009).

What is the concept of association of states?

An association is formed when two States of unequal power voluntarily establish durable links. In the basic model, one State, the associate, delegates certain responsibilities to the other, the principal, while maintaining its international status as a State. However, this concept is not recognized under the present Constitution. The Constitution does not contemplate any State in this jurisdiction other than the Philippine State, much less does it provide for a transitory status that aims to prepare any part of Philippine territory for independence. (The Province of North Cotabato v. GRP Panel on Ancestral Domains, G.R. No. 183591, October 14, 2008).

What are the preconditions for international personality?

• It must constitute a permanent association of states, with lawful objects, equipped with organs;
• There must be a distinction, in terms of legal powers and purposes, between the organization and its member states; and
• It must have legal powers that it may exercise on the international plane and not solely within the national systems of one or more states. [BROWNLIE]

3. INDIVIDUALS

What is the special personality of individuals?

Individuals have limited international legal personality: treaties may confer rights or access to international procedures, while customary international law can impose direct responsibility for international crimes.

What are its examples?

• UNCLOS, art. 187(c) provides for jurisdiction of the Sea-Bed Disputes Chamber of the ITLOS over specified disputes between parties to contracts concerning activities in the Area. Parties to such contracts may be natural or juridical persons.
• The Claims Settlement Declaration of 1981 between US and Iran provides for direct access to the Iran-US Claims Tribunal to individuals for the settlement of their claims involving more than $250,000 either against Iran or the US.
• The Mixed Claims Tribunals established in the Treaties of Peace concluded at the end of World War I provided for locus standi of individuals in actions against states relating to contracts, debts, and property adversely affected by the war.
• The London Agreement of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, relating to crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity, imposed duties and liabilities upon individuals as well as upon states.
• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, art. IV provides that persons committing genocide shall be punished, whether they are rulers, public officials, or private individuals; art. VI addresses where persons charged with genocide shall be tried. (MAGALLONA)
• The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over individuals who commit genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, subject to conditions under the ICC Statute. (ICC Statute, art. 25(1) in relation to art. 5)