Chapter 6 details how NGOs engage in human rights and humanitarian diplomacy. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are just two of the many NGOs which monitor, report, advocate, and educate on human rights. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; Doctors Without Borders) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) routinely and, oftentimes, quietly deliver humanitarian assistance.

How did the Sinitic empires of the Qin and Han interact with their neighbours before the adoption of the concept of international law from the West, following the establishment of the nation state with fixed frontiers in the late seventeenth century? The dominant model is the concept of ‘tribute’ first outlined by John K. Fairbank based on the foreign-relations practices of the late imperial Qing empire. This chapter argues that is incorrect. Apart from engaging in military action, the early East Asian empires followed the ways in which states had related to each other for centuries prior to the establishment of the empires, i.e. by accepting hostages, which developed into the giving of pledges (both used the same term, zhi), and in establishing marriage relations. The earlier ritual of ‘covenant making’ was replaced by a new legal instrument, the binding yue ‘agreement,’ a form of contract. Although local and regional authorities gave ‘prestations’ to the central court in imperial times, it is argued that ‘tribute’ (gong) was not significant until the later Han, when, on the basis of the mention of tribute in two canonical texts, it was incorporated into Confucian world view.

This chapter defines and explains an inter-governmental organisation (IGO) and argues that the United Nations (UN) is paradigmatic of this genre. A contrast is made with other forms of organisation, particularly the supranational integration organisation. The chapter also defines the law of international organisations as the law governing, applicable to, and produced by, such organisations, and explains how this is best studied through a focus on the UN and related IGOs. It explores how law and politics work within the UN and helps the reader to understand how to identify and apply the law, and to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the law. The chapter concludes with a case study drawn from the practice of the Security Council involving the exercise of the veto to distinguish when practice is a valid interpretation or development of the law, and when it is a breach.

This introductory chapter explores what international human rights are, why they are controversial, and why diplomacy is necessary for the actualization of human rights. It also explains the narrow distinctions between human rights and humanitarianism; discusses the different kinds of actors involved in multilevel human rights and humanitarian diplomacy; and outlines basic strategies and tools used to promote and protect human rights and humanitarian principles through diplomacy.

This chapter discusses what makes the constituent treaty of the United Nations (UN) and similar inter-governmental organisations different from many other treaties so that it is appropriate to use the term constitution in relation to such treaties, although the legitimacy and strength of such constitutions varies. In a minimal sense, the UN Charter constitutes, or establishes, an organisation with organs possessing legal powers and members with rights and duties, justifying the use of the term 'constitution'. The chapter also discusses the constitutional features of the UN Charter, including the debates surrounding the so-called 'supremacy clause' of the UN Charter contained in Article 103. It presents two case studies featuring judicial decisions on the primacy of UN obligations by the International Court of Justice in the Lockerbie cases of 1992 and 1998, and the European Court of Human Rights in the Al-Jedda case of 2011, to illustrate the controversies surrounding constitutionalism.

From the ninth to the fourteenth centuries, Japan purposely eschewed concluding diplomatic relations with the countries on its periphery. The international environment that made this fundamental policy possible first formed in the ninth century in the East China Sea with the appearance of maritime merchants. Japan was able to obtain foreign goods through trade ships without having to follow troublesome diplomatic procedures. In addition, no strong hegemonic power could threaten Japan militarily after the ninth century. Assuming this environment, Japan did not engage with any other country beyond temporary communications. Japan’s environment changed with the appearance of the Mongols as a hegemonic nation in thirteenth century. But even under military pressure, Japan refused to conclude diplomatic relations with the Mongols. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Mongols approved trade with Japan without the conclusion of formal diplomatic relations. In the latter half of the fourteenth century, the Ming’s making trade inseparable from the paying of tribute forced Japan to honour the Ming demand. This caused a radical change to Japan’s foreign diplomatic relations.

This chapter examines non-forcible measures adopted by the UN and similar inter-governmental organisations in terms of their legality (constitutionality and conformity to international law), legitimacy and effectiveness. It focuses on the Article 41 of the UN Charter, a provision that empowers the Security Council to adopt sanctions against states, although it has further developed this power to promulgate targeted sanctions against individuals and other non-state actors (NSAs). The chapter analyses the impact of general sanctions against states, such as Southern Rhodesia, Iraq, Serbia and Libya, especially their impact on the human rights of the population. It discusses the applicability of human rights norms to the UN. The Security Council has favoured targeted sanctions against individual leaders, regime elites and NSAs, such as terrorists held responsible for threats to peace but these have raised human rights concerns, and have led to litigation before various national, regional and international courts and bodies.

This chapter examines the relationship between preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and the multilateral trading system represented by the WTO. It explores the historical context of PTAs, their proliferation, economic effects, and WTO surveillance. The chapter analyses the legal texts governing PTAs, including GATT Article XXIV, GATS Article V, and the Enabling Clause, and discusses controversies surrounding their interpretation. It also delves into regulatory issues within PTAs, such as rules of origin and provisions extending beyond WTO rules. Furthermore, the chapter addresses WTO dispute settlement cases involving PTAs and the evolving landscape of trade agreements, including digital economy and critical minerals agreements. Finally, it considers the systemic effects of PTAs on the multilateral trading system, highlighting both positive and discriminatory aspects.

Forcible sanctions, involving the use of force organised or authorised by the UN, regional or defence organisations, raise issues of compatibility with the rules governing the use of force in international relations, which are found in the UN Charter and customary law. This chapter considers the role of inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) in implementing and upholding those rules, necessitating an analysis of Article 2 and Chapters VII and VIII of the UN Charter, and the constituent treaties of security organisations. It discusses different military responses undertaken by IGOs, ranging from observation and peacekeeping, to peace enforcement and war-fighting, in terms of legality and practice. The chapter also considers whether there is an emerging duty upon the UN (and possibly other IGOs) to take action in response to the commission of core international crimes, embodied in the idea of a Responsibility to Protect and practiced in Libya in 2011.

This chapter explores the complexities of discrimination in international trade law, a core principle that mandates equal treatment of foreign and domestic goods, services, and intellectual property. Despite its significance, the definition of discrimination remains contested, with debates focusing on intent versus impact and the comparability of products. The chapter analyses these issues, examining key legal texts like the GATT, GATS, and TRIPS agreements, and the evolving jurisprudence of GATT panels and the WTO Appellate Body. It highlights the shifts in interpreting ‘discrimination’, including the move from considering both ‘aim and effect’ to focusing primarily on the effect of trade measures. The chapter concludes by discussing the challenges in reaching a clear, agreed-upon standard for discrimination and the implications for international trade.

This chapter examines the relationship between trade and development. Centring the heterogeneity of developing states within the World Trade Organization (WTO), the chapter briefly analyses some of the trade law interests that are most important to these different types of developing country. It then turns to a question: how has international trade law accommodated the needs of different types of developing country through special and differential treatment?  The chapter contends that the rules of the global economic order and the WTO in relation to trade were developed and are being implemented in the shadow of a fiercely contested geopolitical power struggle. Despite the flexibilities in the WTO, developing and small island developing states’ trade interests are significantly marginalised in the rules’ implementation. Without fundamentally reimagining the inequities in our international trade regime, mere ‘window dressing’ or adoption of new rules of trade would only further marginalise the trade interests of the developing countries and SIDS in a non-inclusive way.

Although there are controversies about the UN Security Council making binding general international law, this should not disguise the fact that the UN General Assembly has been hugely influential in shaping international law since 1948. This chapter explores institutional lawmaking in the modern era, looking in detail at the impact of General Assembly Resolutions on outer space in the 1960s and the WHO's Health Regulations. Both the General Assembly Resolutions and the WHO's Health Regulations are shown to be international laws in their own right and that they are paradigmatic of UN lawmaking more generally. The chapter examines whether inter-governmental organisations, in exercising their autonomous competence, have the potential to produce laws in their own right, irrespective of whether their output feeds into the traditional sources, such as treaties, custom or general principles, of international law.

This chapter explores the key relationship between the inter-governmental organisation (IGO) and its member states. It examines the basic relationship between the United Nations (UN) and states in terms of membership through admissions, withdrawal, expulsion, suspension, and representation. The chapter provides case studies, including the pursuit of Palestinian membership and the consequences of the break-up of states for membership, showing how the rules on membership are at the same time rudimentary and difficult to adhere to. It shows that membership of an IGO no longer guarantees full sovereign equality of member states, and that with qualified majority voting and weighted voting, sovereign equality becomes more and more qualified. The chapter also explores how the obligation to pay, when combined with a scale of assessments that requires powerful states to pay more, produces considerable tensions within the UN and other IGOs, sometimes in the form of a refusal to pay.

This chapter examines the international rules governing SOEs, including those in the World Trade Organization and various free trade agreements (FTAs), focusing on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The chapter analyses the specific provisions of CPTPP Chapter 17, which sets forth a comprehensive set of disciplines on SOEs, including definitions of SOEs, commercial activities, commercial considerations, designated monopolies, and non-commercial assistance. It also discusses the concepts of adverse effect and injury caused by SOEs, as well as exceptions to the disciplines. Finally, the chapter offers observations on the CPTPP’s rules, including the definition of SOEs, the scope of commercial activities, and the extraterritorial effect of FTAs.

This chapter explores the relationship between international trade and sustainable development, with a particular focus on climate change. It traces the evolution of the multilateral trading system from its origins in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to the present day, highlighting the shift from a focus on trade liberalisation to a broader commitment to sustainable development. The chapter examines how the World Trade Organization has grappled with integrating environmental concerns into its framework, including the development of ‘greening’ jurisprudence, institutions, and rules. It proposes a reform agenda to further align the trading system with global sustainability goals, emphasising the need for alignment with climate change commitments, harmonised sustainability standards, reformed subsidy approaches, governance and institutional reforms, and a focus on equity and justice.