Sovereignty and international law

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We cannot study international relations without understanding international law. International law gives the study and practice of international relations its legal structure. States and non-state actors are questioned about their actions in reference to various international laws.

Goldstein (2005) says that international law and international norms limit state sovereignty. States are supposed to be sovereign and whatever they do within their sovereign territory should not be questioned.

On the other hand, for those in IR302, Raffo and her colleagues (2007) talked about the realist view of international law. International law is used by powerful countries to achieve their own interest.

Let us go back to the feudal system during the period where monarchs ruled over their subjects. No one dared to question the king if he wanted someone's wife or land. Monarchs were sovereign and had the power do do whatever they wanted with no limitation.

When you look at the notion of sovereignty in international relations, we expect states to be sovereign in an anarchic system. However, like what Goldstein (2005) said, international law and international norms limit state sovereignty.

For IR202, I really enjoyed listen to the presentations on Constructivism on Thursday (3/5/2018). The presenters contributed to the discussion and helped us understand Constructivism from the point of view of the different scholars from Wendt to Reus-Smit.

In particular, I like the the presentation by Micahleen on norms. She used the whiteboard to help us understand structure, agency and norms. She talked about the norm of 'protection'. State and non-state actors act in order to protect citizens or civilians from other actors depriving them of their human rights.

The 'responsibly to protect' as defined by the UN embodies a political commitment to end the worst forms of violence and persecution. It seeks to narrow the gap between Member states' pre-existing obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law and the reality faced by populations at risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.  

Looking at the ratification status of PNG in regards to international humanitarian and human rights law you will notice that PNG has not ratified a few important ones. For example, PNG is not a signatory to the:
  • Convention against torture and its protocol
  • Covenant on the abolition of the death penalty
  • Convention on the rights of migrant workers
  • Convention on the rights of the child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts
  • Convention on the rights of child on the sale of children child prostitution and child pornography 
Thus, will the international community intervene if innocent civilians are tortured in a civil war in the future. Will there even be a civil war in PNG in the future. Will intervention via the 'responsibility to protect' undermine PNG's sovereignty?

Just my thoughts in regards to our discussions so far.

References:
Goldstein, J. (2005). International relations (6th ed.). Beijing: Peking University Press.
Raffo, V. et al. (2007). International law and international politics – old divides, new developments. In T. J. Biersteker et al, International law and international relations bridging theory and practice (3rd ed.) (pp. 3-6). New York: Routledge.


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