Deck 19: The Uses of International Law

Question 1

A major complaint about international law is that it is used to justify the whims of powerful countries.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

So-called "customary international law" was the result of pressures from observing the principle of consistency and reciprocity in international law.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

International law is similar to domestic law, where an individual or country may not consent to a law but is under its command anyway.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Self-help is an IL strategy that weak nations use against powerful ones.

Question 5

Recognition of another state necessitates the establishment of embassies and exchange of diplomats.

Question 6

A state has control over the air only as high as a plane can fly and therefore it does not have any jurisdiction over orbiting satellites.

Question 7

Jus ad bellum refers to the traditional rules on behavior in war and is present in the Geneva Convention.

Question 8

War crimes refer to committing massive violations of the human rights to prisoners or citizens.

Question 9

Human rights are those rights that all individuals possess to live a life that is free from government abuses such as torture, imprisonment, or death without due process.

Question 10

States' adherence to the principles of consistency and reciprocity built up over centuries to serve as the basis of ________.

A) international law
B) customary international law
C) formal international law
D) informal international law
E) non-customary international law

Question 11

An example of the principle of consistency affecting a decision of the United States is ________.

A)President Kennedy's rejecting a surprise air attack on Cuba
B) President Kennedy's Bay of Pigs initiative
C) President Bush's decision to invade Iraq contrary to the UN Security Council's wishes
D) U.S. support of the Nicaraguan Contras
E) U.S. condemnation of Russian forces breaking South Ossetia away from Georgia in 2008

Question 12

What is the basic mechanism for creating international law?

A) sanctions
B) military negotiations
C) treaties
D) summits between heads of state
E) universal declarations

Question 13

Any designated representative of a state can ________ a treaty as an initial step.

A) sign
B) ratify
C) terminate
D) arrange
E) negotiate

Question 14

Which of the following CANNOT possibly terminate a treaty?

A) superseding of a treaty by another
B) interference of a third party
C) one party's violation of the treaty
D) a war between the two parties
E) disappearance of one of the states

Question 15

A state is not formally committed to a treaty until the treaty is ________.

A) negotiated
B) signed
C) negotiated and signed
D) ratified and terminated
E) signed and ratified

Question 16

International maritime law establishes a "territorial limit" which ________.

A) extends a state's sovereignty 12 miles beyond its shores
B) extends a state's sovereignty 25 miles beyond its shores
C) allows a state to set its own claim to the waters which it borders
D) prohibits other states from coming within 200 miles of a state's shores
E) prohibits one state from infringing on another state's fishing and mineral rights within 10 miles of the shore

Question 17

Which of the following factors is a possible reason for states to obey international law?

A) a reduced risk of war
B) decreased flow of goods
C) increased defense costs
D) a high risk of arms races
E) increased chance of war

Question 18

China's claim over the security (water and air) of the South and East China Seas and the Yellow Sea are an extension of its ________, which permits it fishing and mineral rights 200 miles from its shores.

A)exclusive economic zone
B) free trade zone
C) territorial limit
D) exclusive economic limit
E) management zone

Question 19

Who has the authority to establish special tribunals to try war criminals and human rights violators, no matter where their acts were committed?

A) the UN General Assembly
B) national governments
C) the International Criminal Court
D) the International Court of Justice
E) the UN Security Council

Question 20

What type of sanction allows international actors to confiscate property, enact boycotts, or engage in punitive raids as a means to punish violators of international law?

A) war
B) retorsion
C) economic sanction
D) reprisal
E) self-defense

Question 21

The United States and other UN member states imposed economic sanctions against Iran due to its support of terrorism and pursuit of a nuclear program. What type of sanction is this an example of?

A) retorsion
B) reprisal
C) war
D) nonviolent sanction
E) retributive sanction

Question 22

When states cannot convince the international community to take multilateral action against a violator, they might resort to extralegal ________, which includes support for domestic opposition groups or, in an extreme case, invasion.

A) reprisal
B) self-help
C) sanction
D) retorsion
E) war

Question 23

Policymakers might choose to use ________ in order to help make states participants in international law. An example of this is U.S. Secretary of State Albright's visit to North Korea in 2000 despite the fact that we have no embassy there.

A) de facto recognition
B) de jure recognition
C) economic sanctions
D) military sanctions
E) foreign aid

Question 24

Which of the following is an example of an outstanding failure of international law, that unsuccessfully outlawed war.

A) Kellogg-Briand Pact
B) Geneva Convention of 1864
C) Geneva Convention of 1949
D) Anti-War Act of 1921
E) Treaty of Versailles

Question 25

Which of the following sources of international law defines attacking harmless civilians as a war crime?

A) the Geneva Convention of 1864
B) the Geneva Convention of 1949
C) the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice
D) the International Human Rights Covenant
E) jus ad bellum

Question 26

Jus ad bellum establishes ________.

A) how states should behave in war
B) what right a country has to go to war
C) what constitutes a war crime
D) what constitutes a crime against humanity
E) where wars can take place

Question 27

Jus in bello establishes ________.

A) when it is acceptable to go to war
B) where wars can take place
C) how states should behave in war
D) when a war crimes tribunal should be established
E) how states can win a war

Question 28

Which of the following was criticized as "visitors' justice" and set a precedent for many war crime trials?

A)the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials
B) the Tokyo war crimes trials
C) the trial and hanging of Saddam Hussein
D) the trial of Radovan Karadžic
E) the Eichmann trial

Question 29

What are the sources of international law? In other words, how is international law made? Once international law is made, how is it enforced? Who is in charge of enforcement and are certain types of enforcement better than others?

Question 30

What are the various types of sanctions that are utilized in an effort to enforce international law? Which type is the most effective? Is one type effective in all situations? Why or why not? Use examples in your answer.

Question 31

What makes a state eligible to participate in international law? What are the two types of recognition and how are they similar or different from each other? Give examples.

Question 32

Discuss how states use the sanction called "self-help." Does it violate international law? Give examples. How did the United States deal with the problem of terrorism with the help of this sanction?

Question 33

Discuss the Geneva Convention, jus ad bellum, and jus in bello. What are the essential elements of each of these? What effect has this had on the occurrence and conduct of war? Have they been effective or not? Use examples in your answer.