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PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW the dolus specialis to destroy the ethnic group as
such, the same may still constitute the Crime
Against Humanity of Extermination if the mass
killing was widespread and systematic or the War
I. Crime of Intentionally Attacking Civilians if the
same took place in the context of or was
associated with an armed conflict. The norm for
the prevention, prosecution and punishment of
The dictatorial regime of President A of the crimes against humanity and war crimes are also
Republic of Gordon was toppled by a customary norms of international and therefore
combined force led by Gen. Abe, former binding on all States. (Prosecutor v. Stakic, ICTY,
royal guards and the secessionist Gordon July 31, 2003)
Peoples Army. The new government
constituted a Truth and Reconciliation
Commission to look into the serious crimes
committed under President As regime. Thus, Republic of Gordon has the obligation under
After the hearings, the Commission international law to prosecute and punish all
recommended that an amnesty law be those involved in the mass killing of the members
passed to cover even those involved in of the indigenous group and providing amnesty to
mass killings of members of indigenous those involved is violative of this obligation.
groups who opposed President A.
International human rights groups argued
that the proposed amnesty law is contrary
to international law. Decide with
II.
reasons. (4%)
C. can expel the nationals of the offending Freedom from torture is a right
state.
Retorsion consists in retaliation where the acts C. Freedom from torture is a right which is non-
complained of do not constitute a legal ground of derogable both during peacetime and in a
offense but are rather in the nature of unfriendly situation of armed conflict.
acts done primarily in pursuance of legitimate
State interests but indirectly hurtful to other
States. (R. Sarmiento, Public International Law
Bar Reviewer, 2009 Revised Edition, p. 233) Article 2(2) of the U.N. Convention Against Torture
provides that No exceptional circumstances
whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of
war, internal political in stability or any other
To be valid in international law, acts of retorsion public emergency, may be invoked as a
should not be excessive when compared to the justification of torture.
unfriendly acts committed by the offending State.
Moreover, they should not violate a States
obligation under Article 2(3) of the U.N. Charter to
settle their disputes by peaceful means in such a Because of the importance of the values it
manner that international peace and security and protects, the prohibition of torture has evolved
justice are not endangered. into a peremptory norm or jus cogens, that is, a
norm that enjoys a higher rank in the United States Experience, 39 Tex. Int'l L.J. 1
international hierarchy than treaty law and even (2003)).
ordinary customary rules. The most conspicuous
consequence of this higher rank is that the norm
prohibiting torture cannot be derogated from by
States through international treaties or local or In international practice, the "associated state"
special customs or even general customary rules arrangement has usually been used as
not endowed with the same normative force. a transitional device of former colonies on their
(Prosecutor v. Furundzija, ICTY, December 10, way to full independence. Examples of states that
1998) have passed through the status of associated
states as a transitional phase are Antigua, St.
Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Dominica, St. Lucia, St.
Vincent and Grenada. All have since become
XXVII. independent states. (Henkin, et al., International
Law: Cases and Materials, 2nd ed., 274 (1987))